Young doctors cry foul over abuses<\/p>\n
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Temporarily employed doctors are winning more support for
\ntheir plight, with the National Commission on Human Rights
\ncharging that the mandatory service required of new medical
\ngraduates by the government is a form of rights abuse.<\/p>\n
Members of the Commission believe that these physicians are
\nbeing treated discriminatively and that the terms of their
\ncontracts are also unacceptable.<\/p>\n
The commission called on the Ministry of Health to review the
\npresent regulations governing the three-year mandatory service
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
Temporarily employed doctors, grouped in the Indonesian
\nDoctors Forum (FDI), have stepped up their protests in recent
\nweeks, questioning not only the basis of their mandatory
\nemployment but also the conditions they are being subjected to.<\/p>\n
Fresh medical graduates are usually required to serve a
\nmandatory term of service for the government in some 27,000
\ncommunity health centers.<\/p>\n
However the conditions in which the 10,000 doctors work are
\noften a source of concern, particularly in remote areas. Among
\nthe many complaints is that their salaries are often paid three
\nto four months late.<\/p>\n
Commission members during a meeting with FDI representatives
\nhere last week questioned why only medical graduates were forced
\nto provide mandatory service despite Law No. 18\/1964, which
\nstates that all university graduates must provide mandatory
\nservice.<\/p>\n
The Commission in a letter to the minister of health said the
\nlaw and the other relevant regulations were discriminatory as
\nthey were only applied to doctors.<\/p>\n
But during a meeting with the FDI on April 1, Minister of
\nHealth Achmad Sujudi said he had no authority to make changes to
\nthe law and that the FDI's demands should be directed at the
\nlegislature.<\/p>\n
But even among senior members of the medical community, there
\nis still debate over the issue.<\/p>\n
Ali Sulaiman, dean of the University of Indonesia's medical
\nschool, insisted that it was a necessary experience that young
\ndoctors had to go through to hone their skills and recognize real
\nhealth problems in society.<\/p>\n
\"They must not be prima donnas. They are on the front line of
\nthe public health service,\" Ali argued.<\/p>\n
If the program is terminated, Ali said \"who would deal with
\nthe public's health needs\" as there was a dire need for doctors
\nin a country where it was estimated that there was only one
\nphysician for every 4,000 people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/young-doctors-cry-foul-over-abuses-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}