Patients suffer as doctors' strike enters third day

LAHORE: Young Doctors Association's strike against "Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act" entered third day on Saturday.

The doctors are boycotting the Out Patients Departments (OPDS) of government run hospitals in several cities of Punjab.

Doctors and paramedical staff was absent from Lahore's Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Services  and Shiekh Zaid hospitals.

OPDs at Faisalabad's Allied and Civil hospitals, Multan's Nishtar and Sargodha's DHQ hospitals were closed.

Patients coming to the government hospital are forced to visit private medical facilities due to the strike which the protesting doctors said would called off only if the government revokes the bill

What is   Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act?

Under the MTI Act, the public sector hospitals would be run by a board of governors and the civil service law would be abolished while doctors and paramedical staff would be inducted through a new service structure.

With the plan of implementing MTI Reforms Act, the government is planning to make hospitals as earning units instead of serving patients and doctors would not allow government to do so, said YDA President at BBH Dr. Rana Azeem while talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday. 

He said the nurses and paramedics have joined hands with the doctors to restrict government from making treatment unaffordable for poor patients and the healthcare staff all across the province is on strike .