Bahrain Feature: Medicins Sans Frontieres on "Military Crackdown on Patients"

Medicins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) publishes this report on the state of health care in Bahrain amidst the crackdown by the security forces:

Health facilities in Bahrain have been drawn into the center of the country’s current unrest and clashes between government and opposition protestors that began in February 2011. The result is an unacceptable circumstance in which medical facilities --- which are generally functioning well in terms of material, infrastructure and skilled staff --- now no longer impartially serve the medical needs of the population.

Hospitals and health clinics are no longer places to go for the sick or injured, but are rather places to be feared. As the military cracks down on protestors and medical personnel Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has witnessed patients with critical and life-threatening injuries refusing to go to the hospital due to high levels of fear.

Their fear is not unfounded. Wounds are used to identify demonstrators, restricted access to health care is being used to deter people from protesting, and those who dare to seek treatment in health facilities are being arrested.

Although MSF has been blocked from addressing this issue on a larger scale, the organization has been able to provide basic medical care to the patients it has met in their homes when there has been no other option for them.

All patients have a right to seek and receive treatment in a safe environment, and all medical staff have a fundamental duty to administer treatment without discrimination. To ensure that this is able to happen, all health facilities --- particularly Salmaniya, the only public referral hospital in Bahrain—must be demilitarised and depoliticized, and health care must not be used as bait to lure patients into situations where they are identified and arrested.

As the situation continues to evolve, MSF will remain prepared to respond to any further medical needs or potential casualties that could arise out of the ongoing tension.

MSF activities in Bahrain

MSF first had a team on the ground in Bahrain two days after protests began in February. Despite the gaps in the provision of care for people wounded in clashes, MSF has been unable to deploy to its full capacity in addressing this issue due to the military crackdown on patients and health facilities. MSF has informed the Ministry of Health of its concerns about the situation. MSF has also proposed setting up an emergency medical response mechanism whereby MSF would accompany patients to health facilities to ensure that they are treated and not targeted for arrest at health facilities, and that health workers are able to conduct their duties in an impartial way without fear of reprisal. MSF has not been able to secure guarantees during this period of military control that patients who it accompanies will not be targeted.

However, MSF will be establishing a project of psychological support to health workers as a way to address one of the internal challenges currently facing the health system. The use of the main referral hospital, Salmaniya, by protestors, the subsequent military occupation of the hospital, the targeting of health facilities and workers, and the sheer number and severity of wounds stemming from clashes have left many health care workers traumatized.

In addition, MSF will continue to share expertise on the management of mass casualty situations. On 2 March, MSF conducted a training session on multiple casualty management for 40 health officials in Bahrain.

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