PESHAWAR: The doctors ended four-day strike at the tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar following successful talks with the government on Monday and agreed to rejoin duty from Tuesday. They were protesting some decisions made in the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Care Commission Bill tabled at the provincial assembly on January 6. “They had certain reservations over some minor issues which we resolved after meeting their representatives on Monday. They, however, caused hardships to the poor patients by suspending health services at the three tertiary care hospitals for these minor issues,” said provincial Health Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai. Asked if the doctors forced the government to make amendments of their choice in the proposed bill, the minister said it was not true. He said the government wouldn’t add amendments to the bill as that would damage the original spirit of the document. Shahram Khan hoped the bill would be passed on Tuesday or Wednesday.“We did a lot of hard work on it and our aim is to improve patient care. We aren’t against the doctors but want them to help us serve the poor patients in the public sector hospitals,” the minister said. According to Dr Amir Taj, spokesman for the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), the doctors called off the strike after the government agreed to accept their demands.He said the government instead of decentralisation of the Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), agreed to streamline it as per rules and principles. The PDA spokesmen said the government had agreed to include the post of senior registrar in teaching care in the Bill.The doctors were worried about the institution-based private practice (IBP). They were adamant on opposing this condition at all costs. They wanted to continue their private practice outside the public sector hospitals, where there is no check on their fee structure and other charges they collect from patients for surgeries in private clinics and ill-equipped surgical centres. The government agreed and allowed them to continue their private practice but decided to provide incentives to those carrying out private practice inside the institution, but the doctors started protest against it. The government had decided to give an option to the doctors to make a decision within 90 days if they wanted to opt for the IBP. ?Once a decision is made, the doctors would then be required to do IBP. The doctors, however, wanted the government to relax the rule, which it did. “The government has agreed and if a doctor isn’t happy with IBP, he would be free to stop it,” Dr Amir Taj said.On the other hand, the doctors continued the strike for fourth consecutive day on Monday and kept the health services suspended at the main three tertiary care hospitals of the public sector ?in Peshawar. The doctors didn’t attend the Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and operation theatres at the Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex. Most of the doctors kept their private clinics closed, but some were there, mostly surgeons, who exploited the patients in their so-called private surgical centres.“Some of them double charged the patients. The patients had no other option as they had been lying in hospitals for the last many days in the hope of surgery,” said a doctor.
