Medical sources have confirmed that the Union of Syrian Doctors has been collaborating with the Ministry of Health to increase the medical wages and medical tariffs.
The head of the Union, Abdul Qadir Hasan, meanwhile, said that the Union is seeking to increase the medical wages – not the medical tariffs.
Hassan said the ministry has asked the Union to prepare a study on the medical wages, and the Union confirmed that it will conduct the study after the elections.
In a statement to Al-Watan, Hassan said that there is a difference between the medical wages and medical tariffs, as medical wages are related to the equipmet needed during treatment, while the medical tariff is the money the doctor gets after examining the patient.
Hassan stressed that the Union has no intention to increase the tariff of doctors in any way, despite the difficult circumstances they are experiencing, and this is why a large number of doctors have left Syria to search for job opportunities in other countries.
Hassan explained that the increase of medical wages has become an urgent necessity as the financial burden on the doctors has become overwhelming as a result of the rising prices in the market, especially with regard to radiographic imaging or devices that are used in surgical procedures.
He revealed that the Union will collaborate with the medical associations to develop a comprehensive study of wages in order to specify the wages that suit citizens and the doctors alike, because the conditions experienced by the Syrian citizens are no less difficult as a result of the current crisis.
Hassan also pointed out that the European sanctions on Syria have increased the prices of medical wages significantly.
He also noted that the Ministry of Health is collaborating with the Union to find an alternative that helps solve the problem of medical wages which have risen dramatically, stressing that the sanctions on Syria are violating human rights.
Hassan said the wages problem will be solved as soon as possible, and that it is not acceptable to open the door for traders to exploit people's need for medical services.
"This can be achieved by specifying a tariff to be adopted by all the doctors, medical associations and hospitals. The Union seeks to achieve a balance between the doctor and the patient so that the doctor is not affected by the medical wages and the citizens do not suffer from the rise inprices," Hassan said.
Medical sources told Al-Watan that the Union has demanded an increase in the medical wages and medical tariffs because a large number of doctors have left the country because of the tough professional conditions.
The Union revealed earlier that the proportion of doctors who left Syria has now reached 40%, which equals more than 10,000 out of 30,000 doctors registered by the Union.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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