Doctors strike in Kassala in eastern Sudan

Doctors working in the Kassala Teaching Hospital in eastern Sudan downed tools on Sunday, in protest against an attack on the staff of the general surgery unit last week.

The Central Sudanese Doctors Committee reported in a statement on Saturday that members of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) stormed the hospital and beat-up doctors of the surgery department. The medics suffered severe head and facial injuries.

A medical intern was detained. “The situation was so chaotic that it was not clear who belonged to the authorities and who was not,” the statement reads.

According to the medics, “The repeated attacks on medical doctors, especially by members belonging to the regular forces, knock the alarm once again.”

Therefore, they urge the enactment of the Protection of Health Staff Bill, in order “to create a working environment and a health system in which staff and patients are respected”.

In October 2016, cases of abuse of medical personnel spiked a nationwide strike by doctors in hospitals throughout Sudan. They demanded the improvement of the working environment, provision of aides, and protection of hospital employees during their work.