YDA gives call for shutdown of outdoor services in Punjab

Gets lukewarm response for Thursday’s protest

LAHORE: Getting poor support from young doctors for Thursday’s road protest in front of the Punjab Assembly, the Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, has got frustrated and given a call for shutdown of outdoor services with effect from Friday (today) to be followed by a complete strike in hospitals except emergency wards from July 25, 2016 (Monday).

The YDA, Punjab, had given a call to hold a protest demonstration and cordon off the Punjab Assembly on Thursday against the Central Induction Policy for post-graduation, but got a lukewarm response from the doctors’ community for standing on a weak footing in opposing a merit-based system of the Punjab Residency Programme.

Although, Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education (SHC&ME) Department had taken certain preemptive measures to ensure smooth delivery of healthcare services in hospitals on Thursday, yet it managed to partially disturb health services in Out-Patient Departments and created hurdles for ordinary citizens on the roads. “The leadership and activists of YDA has once again exposed its hypocrisy of punishing the patients in the name of patients by holding a strike and protest just to get their personal demands fulfilled,” said an elderly woman from Hafizabad visiting the outdoor ward in the Mayo Hospital.

As the Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education (SHC&ME) rolled out Punjab Residency Programme, more than 1,500 doctors have already applied online for admission in this postgraduate programme. “The Punjab Residency Programme is a postgraduate programme that strictly deals with medical graduates, who have given overwhelming response and applied with great zeal,” said Najam Ahmad Shah, Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) and informed that YDA’s activists are strangers to the matter and have nothing to do with it.

However, the YDA’s leadership has thrown another challenge to the health authorities of Punjab to ensure smooth treatment services in hospitals as it announced closure of OPDs on Friday (today) and withdrawal of services from indoor wards and operation theatres with effect from July 25, 2016.

The failure of YDA’s call of protest on Thursday was also caused due to internal differences as many cracks have appeared within the ranks of Young Doctors Association, Punjab. It has divided into several groups due to their personal issues, power struggle, vested interests and differences over implementation of Central Induction Policy.

The cracks especially widened when YDA’s General Council, in a recent meeting, disowned Dr Hamid Butt, former president of the association, along with some of other activists. Despite opposition from within the Young Doctors Association, Punjab, a group of hedonists is, however, bent upon a head-on collision with the government just to win sympathies of the doctors in view of the upcoming elections later this year.

The YDA’s leadership had backed out of its promise of withdrawing the Thursday’s strike call after 7-hour long negotiations with the Secretary SHC&ME Najam Ahmad Shah on Wednesday night, which is another evidence of divisions within the ranks of YDA, Punjab.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning here that the SHC&ME Department also dented YDA’s attempt to hold the health services hostage to its whims as administrations of all hospitals issued instructions to all the departments barring PG residents to refrain from skipping their duties to join the YDA’s protest lest it may result into the cancellation of their post-graduation with the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP).

Earlier, some 250 to 300 young doctors hailing from all over Punjab held a rally on The Mall and gathered at Punjab Assembly to protest against the Central Induction Policy, which continued from 10 am till 2 pm, causing inconvenience to the commuters on The Mall. They were holding banners and placards inscribed with their demands of reversal of Central Induction Policy, and chanting slogans against the Punjab government and health authorities. “Withdraw the curse of Central Induction Policy”, “Sharam Ka Teeka, Haya Ki Drip and Ghairat Ki Goli for Punjab government” are some of the slogans raised by the young doctors.

They demanded complete reversion of CIP inducing online applications; resolve the ad hoc matters and issue of Medical Officers (MOs) of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) 2013. At the culmination of protest, the YDA’s General Council announced closure of OPDs from July 22 and boycott of Indoor services from July 25 and if demands were not met. “We are determined to continue our movement against Central Induction Policy and will not bow until withdrawal of this cruel policy,” they added.

Meanwhile, The Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education (SHC&ME) Department, Punjab, has observed that the strike call by a faction of young doctors against the transparent and merit based online induction policy for postgraduate doctors under Punjab Residency Programme in the teaching and specialised healthcare hospitals has failed as the majority of doctors did not pay any heed to their call and continue providing medical treatment to the patients in the outpatient department of the hospitals. According to a handout, the Department’s spokesman said that on average the turnout of patients in OPDs of teaching hospitals was almost same on July 21. The spokesman said no extraordinary impact of YDAs strike call was observed in hospitals. He said that the turnout of the patients in the hospitals reflects that the majority of doctors believe in a system based on transparency and merit and they are in support of online PG induction policy which should be free of any interference, pressure or nepotism so that eligible and deserving candidates could get chance to come forward purely on merit base.