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25.05.2009 Feature Article

Sikaman Palava: Doctor, have mercy on us

Sikaman Palava: Doctor, have mercy on us
25.05.2009 LISTEN

Are Ghanaians becoming more health conscious? I hear people talking about keeping fit, eating fish, shunning booze and dancing to funky music. I used to think dancing reggae was life-threatening until I saw my friend Baba Abdulai dancing it in slow mo­tion.

Not too long ago, I had an argument with my doctor over red wine. I reminded her that it was quite good for the heart. She agreed but said I should not drink it.

"I thought you just agreed that the stuff is good
for the heart," I said.
"Yes, but do not drink it."
"You want me to drink pure water?" "Yes." So I quit boozing altogether.
If the doctor says the thing is good but don't drink it, it means it is generally good, but for you Kwame Alomele, it is forbidden. I tell you, man is suffering! Don't eat this; don't drink that; don't dance too much on the marital bed. Man dey tire!

Anyhow, I don't like challenging doctors too much. They took six or so years studying human anatomy and physiology. They know the functions of every tissue and organ, every nerve and nerve ending. From the little cockroach biology I learnt years back, I reckon that the human body is wonderfully made. The Bible says so too.

The body is very delicate. That is why it is easy to smoke or drink yourself to death. It is also easy to stress yourself to death. People think the word 'stress' is in the dictionary alright, but has lost all meaning because it has been over-defined, over-drummed and generally over-blown undeservingly.

Go to the clinic and complain of insomnia (sleeplessness) and the doctor is likely to tell you that stress is responsible. Oh, stress again? Aren't doctors tired of this stress business? But believe me, the doctor is right! You are dying of stress and that is why the doctor is telling you.

Doctors have warned us about stress. Unfortunately, doctors themselves have come under stress lately. They have decided to cling to the throat of government and that is stressful for them because it needs muscle power.

The doctors say they want more salary and why not? Everyone needs a raise! But if everyone decided to go on strike, what will Ghana look like from within and without?

Assuming policemen who are poorly paid say they cannot police mother-Ghana on empty stomachs, do doctors think they can live abd feel secured with armed robbers dancing all over the place?

The doctors say they want to go the civil service way-8.00 a.m.to 5.00p.m. Well, that is a deal if they are willing to take civil service pay.

Now, it is only in Ghana that you can decide to go on strike and still take your full salary at the end of the month. It has never ceased to amaze me. It doesn't happen anywhere else in this world. Not even in space.

The state of Ghana is indeed a benevolent institution.
Anyone can go and check how much it takes the taxpayer to train a single doctor. After training, most of them pack bag and baggage and head for greener pastures in Europe, the Americas and the Arab world. The taxpayer doesn't complain!

We must be thankful that some doctors and nurses are very patriotic and stay on to practise in Ghana. I doff my hat to them. God bless them, especially those serving in the rural communities where life is difficult.

They have to live the life of a villager; drinking koko and koose in the mornings and checking on their tuo­zaafi and miankuka soup after a tiring day's job.

They drink pito and, brukutu while their counterparts in Accra drink wine and Black Label whisky. If there is any group of doctors who need more incentives, it is those in the countryside.

Now, getting back to the issue of strikes, I think doctors are standing out conspicuously as serial strikers and that, I guess, isn't giving them any good image.

Ordinarily, isn't it civil servants who are meagrely paid that should go on strikes? It is not doctors since they are relatively well off, because their salaries, compared to others, are good.
Most Ghanaians are struggling. The security man who guarantees the doctor's personal security while he goes about his job is paid GH¢80 a month. How he goes through the month alive is a
mystery.

A policewoman showed me her payslip and I asked her to try selling pure-water at Circle instead of policing.
Doctors should know that with their current salaries, they are privileged in cash-strapped Ghana. They must count their blessings and give the government space to address their concerns.

They must however, have it at the back of their minds that the plight of others are more dire.

Credit: Merari Alomele (The Spectator) Email: [email protected].

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