Services of 16 employees of LRH handed over to Health Department
PESHAWAR: Despite the implementation of the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act in all the public sector health institutions, some of the doctors and health workers went on strike and suspended health services in major hospitals in Peshawar on Tuesday that caused hardships to indoor and outdoor patients.
The administration of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) under the Essential Services Maintenance Act took disciplinary action against 16 employees and handed over their services to the Health Department for further posting.
They included Jamila, nursing superintendent, Gulshan Ara, head nurse, Sirajuddin Burki, clinical technologist, Islam Gul, clinical technologist, Mohammad Asim, CT cardiologist, Shamsul Taj, JCT surgical, Roedar Shah, JCT pharmacy, Mohammad Ali, ward orderly, Sartaj, lift operator, Shahid Masih, Ishaq Butt and Munawar Lal, sanitation workers.
There was a general feeling that the government only took action against the lower staff instead of doctors who were instrumental in launching protest in the public sector hospitals.
However, Col (r) Dr Hamid Saeed, Director LRH, told The News that the administration returned services of the protesting civil servants to the Health Department.
He didn’t agree that besides these employees, the doctors, too, played a role in instigating heath workers on suspension of services.
Some officials, however, argued that taking action against the teaching staff was responsibility of Medical Director Dr Aamir Ghafoor.
“The ball is in Dr Aamir Ghafoor’s court whether or not he can take action against the protesting doctors,” a senior official of the hospital said.
The Health Employees Coordination Council (HECC) and some forums including Pakistan Medical Association, Malgari Doctoran, Young Doctors Association, Islamic Doctors Forum (IDF), All Pakistan Clerks Association and Paramedics Associations had given the call for strike at LRH, Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).
Some of the mainstream doctors associations, including Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), Insaf Doctors Forum (IDF), Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), Medical Officers Association, and IT staff, nursing staff, maintenance and clerical staff at KTH and HMC didn’t participate in the strike. They provided services to the indoor and outdoor patients.
The administration of the three tertiary care hospitals had made some prior arrangements and implemented the Essential Services Maintenance Act in their respective institutions to counter protest of the health workers.
In the LRH, the protesting health workers succeeded in disrupting health services to some extent but the authorities at KTH and HMC somehow managed to reduce patients’ suffering.
The protesting doctors, paramedics and nursing staff had arranged OPDs in tents inside the hospital premises at LRH. They deprived the patients of investigations including radiology and pathology and shut operation theatres of the hospitals.
The hospital administration had broken locks of the main OPD block and opened it for the doctors and patients.
Some of the doctors were able to examine patients but majority of the consultants could not attend OPDs as their rooms remained locked and the lower staff having keys refused to open them.
Besides suspending other services, it was for the first time the doctors and health workers kept the Cath Lab at LRH closed and didn’t conduct angiography and angioplasty.
Orthopedic, surgical unit, Eye, ENT, gynae cardiovascular surgery units also didn’t conduct procedures.
In cardiovascular ward, the lone facility for patients in the entire province and Fata, the waiting list of patients has reached till 2017.
“Angiography and angioplasty services are considered as emergency cover but I don’t know why the protesting doctors deprived patients of this important facility. The doctors had not conducted procedures last week due to the strike,” a senior official of the hospital told The News.
He said 50 patients would have to suffer as 25 more patients didn’t get the facility of angiography and angioplasty on Tuesday.
Interestingly, one of the protesting doctors had brought his mother to LRH for angiography on Tuesday and was seen desperately seeking help from cardiologists over there.
The cardiologists on the spot expressed their regrets and told him they were helpless as the doctor community had forcibly shut the Cath Lab and stopped them from conducting procedures.
LRH Hospital Director Col (r) Dr Hamid Saeed along with other staff visited the main OPD Block and tried to minimise the sufferings of the patients by opening OPD counters and facilitating the available doctors willing to provide services.
Medical Director HMC Prof Dr Noor Wazir and Hospital Director Prof Dr Shahzad Akbar Khan as usual ensured provision of services to indoor and outdoor patients.
The leadership of protesting doctors had planned to stag ‘grand demonstration’ at the HMC and wanted to paralyse services but couldn’t succeed.
Also, apart from protesting doctors, PML-N provincial president Engineer Amir Muqam and Rahat Salam Khattak also visited the HMC for showing solidarity with the protesting doctors.
A senior official said Amir Muqam had brought along with a number of armed guards to the hospital and instigated doctors on suspension of services.
Besides OPDs, the doctors delivered services in all the departments. The hospital’s operation theaters and Cath Lab remained functional as the surgeons conducted procedures.
In KTH, the protesting health workers staged protest demonstration and kept the OPDs shut for sometime.
However, the IT and maintenance staff of the hospital refused to participate in the strike after being convinced by the hospital management.
The hospital management held meeting with the teaching staff of all units and were apprised about the strike and were asked for maximum cooperation to ensure uninterrupted indoor/outdoor health care services. Interim arrangement of deployment of qualified MOs, SMOs to specialist OPDs & Casualty were also made till further orders.
Medical Director Prof Nadim Khawar and Hospital Director Dr Farman Ali through negotiations convinced some employees to deliver services.
They broke locks and opened consultants’ rooms in OPD block where doctors of medicine department, led by Prof Dr Nurul Iman, paediatric, surgical, nephrology, and gynecology department attended OPDs.
A senior official said only Eye, ENT and Orthopedic units in KTH had refused to attend OPDs, even though their rooms were opened and were provided full security.
Except paediatric surgeon, Dr Inam Khan, president KTH Doctors Union, who alone conducted four surgeries, none of the doctors attended operation theaters.
Also, the protesting workers suspended diagnostic services at the hospital.
