Death awaits us all, that is the one thing we have in common - we all die. But what if you had to die because doctors and hospitals showed you away because you had no medical aid. I have heard this story so many times before and I have always just accepted it because thats the way it is. South Africa does not have the cheapest medical aids and we dont have enough doctors or hospitals to cater for the poor. And even though there are thousands of private beds and rooms lying empty you cannot be saved because you dont have a medical aid and you cant afford this type of Medical Attention. I have heard stories of sons drowning in the ocean with the father begging the Rescue teams to go out and save him, to look for his body but they refuse because he does not have a medical aid or the cash in his pocket. I think it is absolutely sickening.
And this weekend it hit home.
My friends dad died on the weekend of a heart attack. Actually he had a couple of heart attacks in one week and up until now as I write this story to you they are still waiting for the government ambulance to come and rescue her dying dad. And even as he took his last breath after holding his granchild in anticipation of his death just to see her for one last time, even after that last breath and second call in a couple of days to summon the ambulance they are still waiting. The doctors couldnt help him and the JHB general hospital had no beds to aid the dying man clutching his chest. His daughter is getting married in October and he wont be walking her down the isle because an ambulance is still on their way to come aid the dying man. She is walking down the isle without her father on her special day because their was no hospital bed open for him that he could afford. His life ended because our doctors and hospitals couldnt take action because he had NO MEDICAL AID. He could not live life longer because no one could spare an open PRIVATE ROOM AND BED FOR A DYING MAN.
They chose to let him die rather because their oath is only valid if you can present your medical aid card. They chose to let someones father, husband, son and friend die because he could not afford the monthly premium of a medical aid.
So much for their OATH or should I say Hippocratic Oath - and so much for just saving a life, so much for compassion and sympathy. For heavans sake I would have let him use my MEDICAL AID to save his life. I would have given up every cent of mine to get him a doctor who would actually help him irrelavent of his medical aid status. QUESTION IS WOULD I HAVE FOUND SUCH A DOCTOR OR HOSPITAL ?
But I write this to you who care to read it and I could write this to the most influencial and wealthiest person in South Africa and they would have an excuse. They would find some ground to justify their decisions. And to me - Its choosing to let a life end without a sacrifice on your part. I would bend any rule if it meant saving someones life.
And here friends is the loving OATH -
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.
I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.
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