Doctors at Zalingei Hospital, Central Darfur, embark on hunger strike

Doctors working at the Zalingei Hospital, Central Darfur, embarked on a hunger strike on Monday. In Khartoum, a police officer slapped a physician on Friday, for refusing to refer a patient to surgery.

The medics at the hospital of Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, decided on the hunger strike in protest against the deterioration of the working environment and arrears in the payment of their entitlements, one of them told Radio Dabanga.

Surgery

Last Friday, a police officer hit a woman doctor at the Khartoum Academic Hospital in El Imtidad district.

He accompanied one of his relatives to, saying that she needed an operation. “The physician on duty decided on routine examinations, but the officer insisted on a surgery,” a colleague of the medic told Radio Dabanga. “They entered into a heated debate, whereby he slapped the doctor on her face.” 

“The police refused to file a complaint, arguing that they cannot take legal action against a fellow officer, and instead called on them to resolve the matter amicably,” he said. “Yet, the doctor decided to resort to the Supreme Court instead.”