LAHORE: While giving a 72-hour ultimatum for acceptance of demands, the Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, has threatened to boycott emergency wards in three days after eighth day of boycott of services in outdoor and indoor wards in hospitals across Punjab on Monday.
“The YDA will be forced to withdraw services from emergency wards if government doesn’t address young doctors’ grievances, which are being ignored by a non-professional bureaucrat sitting as Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department,” said Dr Maroof Vaince, President YDA, Dr Haider Akhtar, Chairman, Dr Salman Haseeb, Dr Shabbir Chaudhry and other office-bearers while speaking at a press conference at Doctors’ Hostel, Services Hospital on Monday.
They said Central Induction Policy (CIP) was a murder of transparency as principles of merit were being violated in admissions to Post Graduate (PG) programmes. “The CIP must be approved by the Academic Councils of medical universities,” they demanded.
They said YDA pointed out shortcomings in the health sector as it raised the issues of establishment of CCUs and ICUs, burn units, cardiac emergencies, and one-bed one-patient ratio in hospitals. “The YDA chose peaceful way of registering the protest as it put up banners, held a peaceful long march, but the government used force to intimidate the young doctors,” they said, while adding that the young doctors emerged stronger due to such cowardly tactics of use of force and terminations from service. Although they claimed not to have negotiated with the government over terminations and transfers of doctors, yet they believed that the government won’t be able to run hospitals without reversing the victimisation of young doctors for raising their rightful demands for the strengthening of the healthcare system in the province.
They demanded immediate replacement of incumbent Secretary of SHC&ME Najam Ahmad Shah for being a non-medical professional, whereas only medical professionals are serving as Secretary Health in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. “The incumbent Secretary Health, despite being a grade-19 official, was holding the post of grade-21, which in itself is a violation of merit,” they claimed.
Earlier, YDA forcibly closed down outdoor wards and boycotted services in indoor wards of Services Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Jinnah Hospital on eighth consecutive day on Monday, where minor operations were postponed. The young doctors are also observing an ‘unannounced strike’ in emergency wards of Services Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Jinnah Hospital, although YDA, Punjab, has publicly announced to provide emergency cover during the ongoing strike.
During the strike, a group of transgender community staged a protest in Jinnah Hospital against Young Doctors Association for denying treatment to one of their patients in the hospital. However, the emergency wards are functioning without any disruption in all other public sector hospitals in Lahore.
However, the young doctors in Mayo Hospital, Lady Wellington Hospital, Lady Aitchison Hospital, Punjab Dental Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore General Hospital, The Children’s Hospital, Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital, Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Yakki Gate, Government Said Mitha Hospital, Government Shahdara Hospital, Gulab Devi Hospital in Lahore continued treatment services with occasional complaints of denial of treatment services in outdoor and indoor wards of these hospitals. However, the paramedics of Allied Health Organization of Shaikh Zayed Hospital are holding strike on 19th consecutive day in the hospital on Monday against the policies of the Chairman of the hospital, which is affecting the healthcare services in the hospital.
While the emergency departments of government hospitals in Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Gujrat, Gujranwala and Faisalabad remained open, patients visiting the OPDs and other wards suffered as a result of the strike.
The Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Punjab Dental Hospital has recommended to Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI), Lahore, to terminate the MDS Part-II training of Dr Arfan Nazar and Dr Beena for remaining absent from duties, involving in agitation since 1st August, obstructing the treatment and misbehaving with the head of the department. It also recommended to College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) for termination of FCPS Part-II training of Dr Irfan, Dr Qaisar Saddam Babar and Dr Saad Hameed on same charges. It also recommended to Principal of de’Montmorency College of Dentistry and Medical Superintendent of Punjab Dental Hospital to deduct their salaries.
The neutral doctors, who are performing their duties in hospitals, informed that although YDA failed to enforce strike in most hospitals in Lahore, yet the strike has affected 20 per cent work in all hospitals. However, the SHC&ME and hospital administrations’ active measures restored the services in outdoor and indoor wards, whereas the spillover of patients was attended by the doctors in emergency wards of the same hospitals. Besides, the private hospitals in the vicinity of the teaching hospitals are also making the most of the strike in public hospitals as the affording patients are visiting private hospitals to get the treatment.