Answer to Minister of Health from Doctors of Resistance : 'No fear is like the fear of those who sell their country'
Reactions are growing to Ministry of Health starting investigation against doctors who provided volunteer first aid and health services during Gezi Resistance. One of the honorable doctors who saved hundreds of life on their infirmary along with his colleagues, answered the Minister with the following lines:
“No fear is like the fear of those who sell their country”*
Minister of health anounced that they'll make reports of crime for volunteer health workers providing first aid on Gezi Park Events; and as reason he claimed that there was no gap in health services and Turkish Medical Association along with the doctors who provided first aid was acting illegaly.
There are many keywords on this anouncement that requires analysing. The first word that grabbed our attention was "illegaly", maybe because a few days ago our honorable lawyers were taken into custody by being dragged on the floor. But we must focus on our domain, and analyse why and how performing first aid can be illegal.
Whatever their are of expertise may be, there are many legal basis obliging medical doctors (including those who don't practice daily, paused practicing for years, or even retired ones) to perform first aid on all conditions. Bylaws of Medical Deontology¹, Medical Profession Ethical Code², Bio-Medicine Contract³, Turkish Penal Code⁴ are first ones that come to mind. Evenmore, the latter is the penal code article sentencing the medical doctors to pay a large fine in case they don't help the wounded. The conscious responsability of the profession aside, not performing first aid is a "legally" punishable offense.
As can be seen from his declaration, Minister doesn't have any information of the medical services provided on these infirmaries and by mobile teams. Then let's take a look, what procedures have been applied to wounded protestors?
Some of the mobile teams consisted of medical students, some consisted of doctors with a medical degree and even some consisted of medical doctors with specialist degrees. What these teams could perform under unlivable amounts of gas and under direct danger to their own body, was limited but of vital importance. Applications limited to taking the bleeding under control for heavily wounded, providing protective masks to those who need it, transporting the wounded from the site to nearest location where emergency care can be applied, are basic first aid applications and does not even require a medical degree to be performed. Such that they are thought on driving schools. Furthermore when applied by volunteers who had medical training with utmost care and differential diagnosis perspective, it can not be compared to the same application by anyone. Therefore the basis for any report of crime against volunteer mobile teams providing health services on the field, has become a serious subject of curiosity.
Unfortunately Minister of Health is mistaken about the infirmaries. There wasn't even a single infirmary without doctors with medical degree. Therefore all applications of medication has been administered under supervision of medical doctors and the necessities of spoken orders has been followed as it is on our regular clinics. Also no procedure which may have life threatening complications have been applied on these infirmaries, to the contrary many possible complications, infections, loss of organ function, loss of organ, and fatality have been prevented by fast and effective intervention applied to protesters who were subject to unmoderated police violence. If there wasn't a gap on medical services during these events, it's purely by the virtue of these voluntary infirmaries where the number of woundeds attended to surpassed thousands; therefore it's expected from the Minister who himself is a medical doctor to be busy with thanks and praise instead of reports of crime.
It is obvious that Minister himself pose an ideological and discriminative attitude, as can be seen from him threatening medical professionals providing topnotch emergency medical service without minding salary performance reviews, additional payments or insurance requirements. While it would be expected from him not to be side with inhumane police attacks to these infirmaries about which cases of attempted murder has been filed; but by not disappointing his political party he violated the ethics of the profession himself. Also no health professional providing voluntary health service on the field serviced the personal informations of the wounded by abiding to the regulations and rules they abide by; on the other hand on this point too Minister ignored the legislation he is bound by.
They are affraid. There is an army infront of them, working like bees, day and night, with no care on salary performance review, overtime payments and bonus payments, at the risk of their lives. It's impossible not to understand their fear; they attempt on the lives of this voluntary army, yet those with white aprons doesn't care, they keep helping the fields everyday. Shouldn't they be affraid; there are lots of medication, food and all forms of support continuously arriving to these infirmaries, so they are not alone. Aren't they affraid; all those who do not bow take power from the presence of the voluntary health workers. Voluntary medical doctors and health professionals of the people do not bow, and as they do not bow the honorable resistance of people gets stronger!
* Nazım Hikmet Ran, Fear, 1959
1. Medical Deontoloji Bylaws; Resolution of council of ministers: No.4/12578 - January 13th, 1960, Published on Legal Gazette: February 19th, 1960 - No: 10436: ARTICLE 3 - Medical doctors independent of their position or specialisation is obliged to provide first aid on cases of emergency where care is not directly available.
2. Code of Ethics for Profession of Medical Doctors : ARTICLE:10- “Medical Doctor, irrespective of position and speciality provides first aid in emergency cases where other medical intervention is unavailable.”
3. Bio-Medical Contract; Article 1,2,3.
4. Turkish Penal Code: 476/2; Article sentencing the act of not helping the wounded by a fine.
5. Medical Deontoloji Code of Practice; Article4/1; Ethical Rules of Profession of Medical Doctor, Article 9/1-c
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