Ibrahim Ali Naseeb
Al Madina
MINISTER of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah is a great man who is loved by the people of his country. I trust this man and love how committed and loyal he is to his job.
However, I would like to bring to his attention the many letters I have received from doctors who have written to me about their suffering. Their salaries have gone down and they have lost many of their allowances, developments that have caused them to fall into debt.
In addition to that, these doctors are also suffering on account of laws that differentiate between them and other doctors in the Kingdom. For example, there is a difference in treatment between doctors who work in the Kingdom’s ordinary health sector and those who work for the Saudi National Guard. These disparities add to their suffering.
According to what I have heard, these doctors have tried many times to communicate with the minister personally but have not been able to do so. I do not think that the minister would refuse to sit and listen to his fellow doctors, especially since doctors are crucial for the country’s stability and make up one of the most important groups of employees in the Kingdom’s health industry.
One of the problems doctors face is that regulations prevent them from practicing their profession outside official working hours. By stopping them from working on the side, they are unable to compensate for earnings they have lost. In my opinion, I do not believe that allowing doctors to work outside official working hours would create obstacles as long as they are capable of working at other times.
So, instead of running after them and referring them to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution to punish them, I hope the minister sits and discusses with them ways of solving their problems. Fulfilling doctors’ needs would actually be positive for the whole country because the work output of someone who is comfortable is different from that of one who works to survive and is afraid of being punished.
This is just a small part of the struggles and worries of doctors who are waiting for the Minister of Health to listen to them. I can send all of the letters I have received to the minister’s personal email with the hope that his compassionate soul will finally end the difficulties that these doctors are experiencing.
