The Free Egyptians Party (FEP) said it endorses the demands of doctors for security in hospitals and medical institutions following a large-scale demonstration organised at the Doctors’ Syndicate last Friday.
FEP launched an initiative aimed to resolve the conflict between the syndicate and the government by forming a delegation of the party’s MPs to mediate between the two camps, warning against aggravation inside professional syndicates.
The syndicate previously called for an urgent public assembly and called for the accountability of nine police officers who had assaulted and unlawfully detained two doctors at the Matariya Teaching Hospital in late January.
Investigations into the incident and legal measures against the conscripts must be prompt. Security is a right for all personnel in medical institutions and a law criminalising and seriously penalising attacks on doctors and medical institutions is needed and is on the agenda of party members inside the parliament.
“The party also calls on the Ministry of Interior to re-evaluate the situation of the police sector, as we have witnessed increasing violations committed on their part during the past months,” FEP said.
Moreover the party criticised the lack of crisis management handling by the Ministry of Health and that its indifference to doctors’ issues has caused more inflammation and contributed to escalated reactions.
FEP called on members of the Doctors Syndicate council to keep the doors open for dialogue with MPs, the cabinet, and party initiatives, “without raising extreme slogans that may harm doctors before anybody else”.
Syndicate secretary-general Mona Mina previously said on television that instead of supporting the doctors’ cause, the Health Ministry took advantage of the situation to issue a decision ordering obligatory medical training for graduate students without consulting with the syndicate, knowing there would be contestations to the decision.
