MANAMA: The Bahrain Medical Society (BMS) has objected to a parliamentary motion demanding patients only be treated by doctors and nurses of the same sex.
“This is against the medical oath which all of us took and which states equal treatment for all patients irrespective of their gender. It clearly violates medical practice and promotes gender discrimination,” said BMS President Dr. Ahmed Jamal.
Lawmakers submitted the proposal last year. The proposal bans the medical examination of patients by the opposite gender except in emergency cases. If approved, doctors and nurses would only treat patients of the same sex.
“Women may feel more comfortable discussing their problems with a female doctor than a male doctor. We received complaints that male doctors and nurses were treating female patients and vice versa,” said MP Jalal Fairooz from the Al-Wefaq bloc, commenting on the motive behind the proposal.
The lawmaker said he also wanted to extend the same proposal to the handling of dead bodies in mortuaries. The proposal was recently discussed by the Cabinet.
