The board of the Doctors Syndicate and members of its affiliates are planning a meeting this Saturday to discuss a partial strike that is slated to begin on Monday. Participating doctors are demanding a raise in salary, and for an increase in the Health Ministry budget to 15 percent of the total state budget.
Doctors working in emergency rooms, intensive care units or those providing any other life-saving services will not be participating in the strike, said syndicate member Dr. Abdel Fattah Rizk.
"The strike will be suspended on Thursday [so that doctors can] give medications to patients of chronic diseases. [The strike] will only include doctors working in the ministry," Rizk added.
The Nurses Syndicate has said it would not take part in the strike, and threatened to report any nurses who did so to the authorities. Some independent nurses movements have announced that their members would participate in the strike, however.
"The nursing bodies refused to take part in the strike, particularly as President Mohamed Morsy pledged to increase the Health Ministry budget to 15 per cent within five years," Nurses Syndicate head Kawthar Mahmoud said in a statement.
"The Health Ministry supports the legitimate demands of doctors, as long as they don’t harm patients or health institutions," said Deputy Health Minister Dr. Abdel Hamid Abaza. The Cabinet has established a committee to explore increasing funding for the Health Ministry, he added.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
