Syria’s doctors fear compulsory service despite Damascus government decisions
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, doctors in Damascus expressed their fear of the decisions issued by the Medical Services Department at the General Command of the Syrian government forces, in the absence of the guarantor.
On Monday, a decision was issued confirming that doctors’ military service will be a year and a half without reserve or reserve, in addition to considering the first year of service as a year of privilege in specialization.
Syria is witnessing massive flight of human capital, especially doctors, while the government is trying to persuade them to stay and attract them to serve amid the reluctance of young people to join the military service, as the duration of the military service reached nearly eight years or more during the war.
On December, the Doctors Syndicate, in coordination with the Ministry of Defence and the Medical Services Department, obtained a decision allowing the doctor to choose the point in which he serves, in addition to allowing him to open a private clinic while performing compulsory service.
Bashar Perri (a pseudonym), a resident at al-Assad University Hospital, told North Press, “These decisions are an attempt to win over doctors amid the great migration.”
ctors amid the great migration s, supporting agricultural sector and irrigation canals,
There is no guarantee that the ministry will not keep the doctor when there is a numerical shortage of staff, he added.
There is no body that can guarantee that a doctor will be released when he joins the army, according to Perri.
Issa Muzain (a pseudonym), a general surgeon at al-Mujtahid Hospital in central Damascus, told North Press that, “In addition to the duration of service, the living situation is the main reason for not joining the service.”
“The medical point to which the doctor is dispatched may be suffering from a lack of staff, or pressure, so he has more shifts, and thus it is difficult to work in his clinic,” he added.
Muzain pointed out that the shifts issue, length of time, and other details are determined within the point and according to circumstances and need.
Most doctors prefer contracting and traveling to the Gulf countries or Europe, where they can work and secure a livelihood, according to Salim Hakim, a resident at al-Mouwasat Hospital.
He pointed out that the doctor’s check-up is 4,000 SYP on the outskirts of Damascus, and the high costs of starting the clinic make the decision useless.
“There will be too much pressure on the military hospitals on the outskirts of Damascus, or the big city while there is little pressure in the remote countryside and governorates,” the doctor added.