A senior Ministry of Health official said people who join the medical professions should do so because they want to help patients and do what is in their best interests rather than being motivated by a desire for wealth.
Thea Kruy, ministry secretary of state and chairman of the National Medical Council, was speaking at a press conference for the Council of Nurses on December 17 in Siem Reap province.
He said medical professionals are obligated to think of their patients’ best interests first under all circumstances rather than pursuing a medical career in order to get rich.
“If being a snappy-dresser is what your true interest is, then please don’t practise the medical profession because it isn’t a business transaction. If we put our own interests first, then we are not doctors, we’re businesspeople. It violates the code of professional ethics for doctors to transform your profession into a business. In the work of saving patients, we have to have trusted expertise,” he continued.
Speaking at the press conference, Ouch Vuthy, president of the Cambodian Association of Virtuous Doctors, said the medical profession in Cambodia is encountering a problem with some doctors who are not abiding by the code of professional ethics and putting their financial interests ahead of patient interests.
He added that the greed of some doctors resulted in the decline of the medical profession’s reputation and authority in Cambodia, so re-strengthening the profession by promoting ethical conduct is necessary.
“Today, we have seen some individuals put their own good fortune first. That can be hazardous to health. So, I appeal to all doctors to behave well and do their utmost to help people. Don’t put money first. They must treat their patients first and the money comes after. If a patient has no money and they come to use for help, we should be favourable with them and do as much as we can,” he continued.
He stated that he has observed that the problem with certain hospitals, especially private clinics in some districts, is that they treat the medical profession like a business, which means they are not focused on providing their patients with the best treatment and they aren’t complying with the ethical principles of their profession.
He also said that certain doctors had operated on and treated patients solely on their own initiatives, without consulting with other specialists or the directors of hospitals. In certain cases, employers have also behaved unprofessionally by giving orders to doctors that failed to comply with medical standards because they put their businesses interest first.
Vuthy called on the health ministry and other relevant institutions to tighten regulation of the medical profession and carry out regular and frequent inspections of ethical practices in hospitals, especially private establishments.
He said the schedule of inspections must be kept confidential, without giving any hospital or clinic prior notice, so that the hospitals aren’t able to prepare in advance and the inspections will reflect their actual day-to-day practices when providing their services.
The ministry issued instructions earlier in December strengthening medical service provisions in private hospitals after an incident at the privately-owned Deum Angkrong Clinic where untrained staff with no professional registration provided improper care to a woman that resulted in serious life-endangering complications that required emergency hospitalisation to correct.
After an investigation, the ministry announced that the clinic’s licence to operate was suspended as were the professional licences of some of its staff members.
