Young doctors continue strike on third day

Rawalpindi : The young doctors continued their strike on the third day at the outpatient departments of almost all public sector hospitals of the Punjab province including the three teaching hospitals here in town for recording protest against attack on Dr. Saad Rafiq of Children Hospital Lahore.

The working at the OPDs of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital remained interrupted on the third day of strike, on Saturday that irked hundreds of poor patients visiting OPD particularly those belonging to city outskirts or far flung areas.

The young doctors observed a partial strike and the patients had to wait for longer period of time as compared to routine for check-ups at the OPDs. According to the hospitals’ administration, however, all the patients visiting OPDs were given treatment though some of the patients had to suffer due to delay.

Medical Superintendent at BBH Dr. Tahir Rizvi, while talking to ‘The News’ on Saturday said the young doctors remained on partial strike at the OPD to register their protest though they did not refuse to examine any patient. Almost all patients who visited BBH OPD on Saturday were attended by the young doctors, he said.

The young doctors left OPDs for small intervals of time at the BBH and HFH to record their protest. The administrations of the hospitals held talks with the doctors on strike after which the young doctors served patients in OPDs as per routine.

Dr. Rizvi said the young doctors are responsible enough to understand the difficulties and problems of poor patients and they were not in a mood of adding miseries to the lives of poor patients.

The hospitals’ administrations have decided that every department would convince a certain number of postgraduate trainees attached with it to serve in the OPDs to accommodate poor patients in case of strike by young doctors and all professors along with associate professors, assistant professors and senior registrars would give maximum possible time in OPDs to accommodate patients if needed. It is important that emergency departments at the three teaching hospitals have been working properly as per routine as there has not been any call of strike in accident and emergency departments.