2 weeks Ago
Young doctors and paramedics employed by the government have once again demonstrated a troubling disregard for their Hippocratic oath by launching a strike that has paralysed emergency departments and operation theatres across hospitals. In doing so, they have denied access to critical care for countless patients, including those who may have found help from doctors still willing to serve. The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has now escalated matters by calling for nationwide agitation, warning that their protest will continue until all demands are met.
However, if past conduct is any indicator, this is less about patient care and more about protecting entrenched privileges within a profession that has grown increasingly insular. Time and again, when senior doctors face dismissal for gross negligence that results in serious—often fatal—consequences, it is these same young doctors who rally in defence, blocking roads, shuttering shops, and mobilising to reinstate colleagues, without a thought spared for the lives lost or the standards ignored. Their resistance to accountability has been consistent, and far too frequent to be dismissed as isolated incidents.
Deepening Divide The current wave of protest, sparked by the government’s proposal to privatise certain segments of its inefficient and overstretched public healthcare system, exposes the core of their grievance. This is not a movement fuelled by concern for patient care; it is about job security and the preservation of influence within state-run institutions. The argument that privatisation would lead to worse outcomes for patients rings hollow when the very people making it are willing to endanger lives by locking down hospitals during a strike.
If these young doctors had faith in their skills and genuine commitment to their professional oath, they would be unafraid of proving themselves in a more competitive healthcare environment. They would protest constructively, without disrupting life-saving services. Instead, their callousness towards the patients who depend on them—and their open defiance in the face of necessary reform—speaks to a deeper selfishness that undermines the credibility of their cause.
Financial Sovereignty The Young Doctors Association has revealed where its loyalties lie, and in doing so, it has likely alienated much of the public it claims to serve. Tags: dangerous doctors.
