Reem Leila reports on the ongoing doctors' strike On 17 September emergency services joined in the doctors' strike which is now heading into its third week. Fifteen hospitals are currently affected with a partial closure of services. Only one -- the Ismailia public hospital -- is completely closed. Doctors are demanding an increase in spending on health services from 3.5 per cent of the government budget to 15 per cent. They also want better security at hospitals, a restructuring of salaries and upgrades of both equipment and training. The striking doctors say their monthly salaries currently range between LE250 to LE600, and that hospitals are increasingly coming under attack from thugs and hooligans, some of them armed. Striking doctor Mohsen Abdel-Salam says that the escalating protest will only affect new patients who will be "guided to alternative facilities". "Since June we have been promised by all concerned officials that an overhaul of the health sector will take place," says Abdel-Salam. "So far nothing has been done." Health officials appear to have adopted a strategy of ignoring the doctors' demands in the hope that they will go away. They have been less passive towards the striking doctors themselves, some of whom have been threatened with dismissal if they do not return to work. It was the harassment of striking doctors that spurred them to escalate the partial three-day protest which began on 10 September into a full strike. Health Minister Amr Helmi met with 50 protesting doctors on 18 September to discuss possible responses to their demands. The three-hour meeting ended with Helmi promising to address outstanding problems as soon as it is feasible. According to Hisham Sheha, head of the Ministry of Health's Central Department for Medical Treatment, Helmi also met "with managers of hospitals where strikes are taking place and urged them to halt any harassment of striking doctors as long as the flow of work is not seriously affected". The ministry, Sheha said, has prepared a plan to raise salaries of all workers in the health sector which is currently being studied by the Ministry of Finance. "We are also sending mobile clinics to areas which are witnessing strike action in order to provide essential services." Last month Helmi announced that LE940 million had been earmarked to improve salaries in the medical sector, and that doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses would all benefit. But when pay rises will come into effect remains unclear. "They have to be patient," says Sheha. "The government budget is facing enormous strains. We need to cooperate for the sake of the country as a whole." In the aftermath of the January Revolution the daily pressures faced by doctors and nurses have increased, with hospitals coming under attack by armed thugs and medical staff facing threats from the families of patients. Emergency departments have been particularly affected, with patients demanding admission to hospitals regardless of the availability of beds. "Lack of security and continuous attacks hinder us from working properly. Nearly 25 per cent of hospital staff are failing to turn up for work because they fear being attacked," said striking doctor Ihab Mohamed. The Ministry of Health has discussed with the Interior Ministry and with the military police ways to better protect hospitals. It has also entered into a contract with a private security company to help safeguard premises. "Private security will be used in all hospitals in Greater Cairo and Alexandria to safeguard emergency units and reception areas, the most attacked sections of hospitals," said Sheha. Partial strikes on 10 and 17 May saw more than 80 per cent of doctors participating. In addition to the ongoing demands, strikers had also demanded the dismissal of then minister of health Ashraf Hatem.
