By Assaf Rassin Kamara, USA.
It’s an irony that we have doctors in our country that nobody trusts anymore. Do the doctors put themselves in this predicament? What are they doing that is unprofessional? Or is it that they’re all about money rather than saving lives? These are some of the questions that we need to pay attention to because in my understanding the doctors are all about money rather than saving lives.
The doctors in Sierra Leone today do not have any regard for life but for money. The senseless war took hundreds of thousand lives. Now that the war is over the doctors have decided to do their own part by killing more people because they don’t have money to offer them for their services. The people don’t have to suffer for something that they them selves can’t even control.
The doctors don’t mind to watch people die in front of them doing nothing to prevent that from happening they; would rather ask them to take the sick home with them for the person to die on their way home or at home if they’re lucky.
This is not something that should be happening at all but because they know that government won’t do anything about it, so they don’t care. I know the government is not paying them on time but that is not an excuse for them forgetting about their oath, and that oath is to save lives first then money comes later.
It’s not that they don’t know what they’re doing, it’s just gross wickedness and heartlessness. These doctors all took an oath before they started to practice but today that oath doesn’t mean anything.
Today people don’t have jobs; housing has become more difficult, not to even talk about their daily bread. With all this being the most common thing that people have to deal with day in and day out, yet still the doctors who took an oath to save lives are failing the people.
President Ernest Bai Koroma is now talking about zero tolerance on corruption; that should not only focus on former ministers or heads of parastatals, but doctors too should be prosecuted by the anti-corruption commission.
The doctors should be punished for being corrupt and for undermining the government by making life more difficult for the poor people than it is already. If the president is talking about change of attitude in Sierra Leone, he needs to focus on the medical doctors as well.
These doctors have a very important role to play in society but they prefer to focus on the money, which I don’t find common in any other country but Sierra Leone. Is it not the doctor’s responsibility to treat a patient before any money discussion takes place? I think they’re misunderstanding that completely and they’re taking advantage of the fact that they’re doctors and the people needed them more than they do. They fail to understand the fact that what goes around comes back around.
If you cannot sympathize with the people, you should at least empathize with them and that’s the least you can do, not inflicting more pain and agony.
The government should start prosecuting doctors for professional malpractices and misconduct. If something is not done about this matter then the people of Sierra Leone are in big trouble. If we cannot pay close attention to the fact that infant mortality during the delivering of babies is very high in Sierra Leone, people will die of simple headache and you name the rest.
Not that these doctors don’t know what they’re doing but is just an inhuman behavior, heartlessness and gross wickedness. When will the government put an end to such professional misconduct from our so-called doctors? How do these doctors go to bed at night? Do they really have conscience?
I don’t think so, because if they do they will be doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I still don’t understand why we’re so wicked to one another. When I was growing up as a child, doctors were very passionate about their job and they wanted to make sure they give you the best treatment they possibly can. Today it’s the opposite of that and the question is why are the doctors not focusing on saving lives but money? The people had suffered from the rebel war and the corrupt Kabbah government and they still continue to suffer. How long do the people of Sierra Leone have to suffer?
I’m appealing to President Koroma to take immediate action about this matter because it’s a very serious issue that needs to be addressed properly so that the people can start relying on doctors again as it used to be back in the past. Also the government should rebuild their trust again with the health ministry by them getting paid well and on time.
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