Doctors’ strike reports denied

Health authorities have denied press reports claiming that a group of doctors is planning a strike against the recently-imposed new administrative procedures.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Health Ministry slammed a report published by an Arabic daily on Saturday, claiming that a group of consultant physicians was lobbying against the ministry and will issue a petition that rejects the new administrative procedures the ministry had introduced recently.

“The ministry had communicated and discussed with all medical consultants before introducing any new measures. Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh personally met with the concerned healthcare officials in Salmaniya Medical Complex, the Psychiatric Hospital and a number of the health centres in the country. She also met with more than 80 consultant doctors by the beginning of this month and discussed their demands and requirements,” the statement read.

The ministry denied the claims mentioned in the report that consultant doctors at Salmaniya Medical Complex were planning to strike at the same time of the visit of a team of the Canadian medical accreditation (Accreditation Canada International) to Bahrain by the end of the month.

“We would like to clarify that health establishments across the world are granted the Accreditation Canada International basing on accurate practical measures and does not count petitions or other false information that was published in the report,” the ministry stated.

The report was also criticised by Bahrain Medical Society, which questioned the credibility of the report. The society reaffirmed that it welcomes any complaints from the medical cadres in Bahrain, if there are any, adding that “what is mentioned in the report about an intended strike by doctors is shocking.”

The ministry called upon local press to be precise about the information it publishes about Bahraini doctors and to crosscheck it with the ministry first, aiming to protect doctors’ reputation and preserve their gains.