Nurses react, threaten to withdraw services even from emergency wards
LAHORE: Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department has decided to issue show-causes notices to protesting nurses, as Young Nurses Association’s strike and sit-in enters fourth day on Thursday.
The nurses also decided to hit back and threatened to withdraw their services from emergency wards after practically paralysing work in outdoor and indoor wards and operation theatres in public sector hospitals in Punjab during the last four days.
“The Department shall send explanation calls to protesting nurses through hospital administrations followed by normal course of ESTA code show-cause,” said Najam Ahmad Shah, secretary, SHC&ME, while giving a strong message to the agitating nurses rather than yielding to ‘unjustified demands’ of the nurses.
The nurses’ response to this warning was extremely bitter as they threatened to stop working in emergency wards to pressurise the government to fulfill their demands. “We will not be cowed by the warning of initiation of disciplinary action and fear of losing our jobs,” said Nasira Parveen, a spokesperson for YNA, while talking to the media.
Earlier, the nurses from all public sector hospitals, under the banner of YNA, continued protest demonstration and sit-in on The Mall outside Punjab Assembly on fourth consecutive day. The nurses were carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands. They chanted slogans against the government for denying their right to service structure and Health Professional Allowance (HPA) equal to doctors. “The Health Risk Allowance (HRA) of merely Rs 1,500 is tantamount to humiliation for nurses, who perform a very sensitive job of assisting the doctors and taking care of patients during their treatment in hospitals,” said Rozina Manzoor, YNA president, and demanded issuance of notification for HPA of Rs 20,000 equal to that of doctors.
The nurses’ strike in hospitals is severely affecting service delivery in hospitals in addition to postponement of several minor operations in all public sector hospitals of Lahore. The doctors and paramedics are trying to manage treatment of the patients in the absence of nurses.
Besides, the protest demonstration and sit-in on The Mall in front of Punjab Assembly hampered smooth flow of traffic. Like the previous days, ambulances were also seen stuck in traffic jam. Commuters also exchanged harsh words with the agitating nurses.
Meanwhile, a couple of nurses, Nusrat Cheema from Services Hospital and Uzma from Jinnah Hospital, also fell unconscious due to sweltering heat and they were rushed to Mayo Hospital. “What these nurses will go through if they do not get treatment in the hospital,” commented a visitor to Mayo Hospital while reacting to the insensitivity of young doctors, nurses and paramedics for frequently holding strikes and protests to the detriment of poor patients in hospitals.
The nurses’ protest continued on Thursday night till the filing of this report as Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department suspended talks and moved to take action against protesting nurses. The nurses showed no flexibility on their demand of issuance of notification for HPA and vowed to continue sit-in till acceptance of all demands after YNA Mayo Hospital chapter’s meeting with Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique on Thursday also proved futile.
However, SHC&ME Secretary Najam Ahmad Shah considered nurses’ demand of HPA of Rs 20,000 as non-practicable as cadres of nurses and doctors were altogether different, while adding that the increase in salaries for grade-17 nurses would require billions of rupees as government officials of grade-17 in all departments would become claimants to the increase.
He said that nurses of grade-16 and 17 were getting Rs 11,000 and Rs 7,500 extra allowance under the head of mess/dress in addition to their salaries, which no other grade-17 official was entitled to. However, he assured that relief would be given to nurses in rationalising house rent in hostels, conveyance and award of Health Risk Allowance (HRA) of Rs 1,500 as being given to paramedics, besides announcing formation of a committee to devise service structure for nurses. He also reminded them of promotion of nurses after creation of 2,000 new posts, which had been pending for many years, and asked them to call off their strike as patients were suffering in hospitals and motorists were facing difficulties on roads due to their protest demonstration.
