Holy Family Hospital: Young doctors call off strike, resume services at emergency dept

Rawalpindi: After 28 hours of strike, the young doctors resumed working at the emergency department of Holy Family Hospital in the midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday and after that the emergency department has become fully operational.

The young doctors including postgraduate trainees and house officers went on strike at the emergency department of HFH at around 9:00 p.m. on Monday night allegedly after an attack by the attendants of a patient on young doctors at noon on Monday. The Young Doctors Association alleged that the attendants of a 14-year-old male patient maltreated two female young doctors at the neurosurgery department of the HFH on Monday noon and afterwards manhandled the young doctors creating a hostile situation within the premises of the hospital.

After failing in getting any legal action against the attendants from Monday afternoon till Monday evening, the young doctors went on strike on the call of Young Doctors Association Monday night withdrawing their services from the HFH emergency department. The YDA had demanded launching of an FIR against the attackers and their arrest.

The YDA called off the strike in the midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday after the YDA office-bearers held a meeting with senior officials from police department and city district government in the presence of Vice Chancellor Rawalpindi Medical University Professor Umar and Medical Superintendent at HFH.

Senior city district government officials fulfilled almost all demands of YDA and informed the YDA office-bearers that an FIR has been lodged and the culprits were under police custody. In the meeting, it was decided that the RMU allied hospitals would be declared as ‘Emergency Vulnerable Areas’ and state would be responsible to provide security and would be responsible for any mishap, said YDA BBH chief Dr. Rana Azeem while talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

He added that the senior officials informed the YDA that a letter in this regard has already been sent to the Health Minister Punjab and it has been decided that a private company would be hired to provide security to the hospital staff within the premises of the hospitals.

It was also decided in the meeting that the concerned department would make availability of 30 additional private guards at the hospital possible from Wednesday, to provide proper security to the hospital staff, said Dr. Azeem.