The issues about doctors and turning down patients for surgeries because they can’t afford to pay for it has being one of the hardest ethical questions in modern healthcare because it’s a question that is in between the question of morality , economics and human survival.
It is true that doctors take an oath to preserve life but the hospitals also need money to function effectively. These surgeries to be carried out need equipment, medications, blood supplies, equipment and also capable and trained hands or specialist who must be paid for the duty they discharge.
So in as much as the doctor may want to sincerely save a patient’s life, the hospital most time operates as a business and this is where the tensions arises.
But still turning away patients who are critically ill because they cannot pay still raises serious moral concerns. Human life should not be treated like it’s an expensive or luxury product that can only be bought by the rich.
In emergency situations, I believe and as well as many people believe that treatment should commence first while arrangements for payments to be made can be in the pipeline instead of waiting till the person gets the entire money before treating him or her as this may lead to eventual death.
There are other alternatives that can be considered as against rejecting the patient’s outrightly.
Some of these approaches are alredy used in different parts of the world and they include:
Using any of this other alternative can help in dire situations to save life and start treatment until bills can be sorted out.
We cannot also neglect the fact that most of these hospitals staff are overwhelmed in the work. In many country especially in third world countries like ours, hospitals do not have enough funds, the doctors are underpaid and there are not even enough facilities to help patients.
Sometimes the problem is not even a lack of compassion from these doctors but the medical system is so broken that they are left with impossible choices.
In my own opinion , a balance to these would be
A society is often judged by how it treats its most vulnerable peoples People shouldn’t die because they are poor.
(Images generated with chat GPT)
