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YDA announces movement against ‘privatisation’ of health facilities

By our correspondents
January 07, 2018

LAHORE : The Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, has condemned Punjab government’s decision to "privatise" different facilities of health sector and announced a movement against, which it called, the policy of depriving the poor patients of right to healthcare in the province.

"The YDA fully supported Chief Justice of Pakistan’s suo motu for betterment of public hospitals and is considering becoming party in the case to protect the rights of patients,” said Dr Maroof Vaince, Young Doctors Association Punjab president, Dr Atif Chaudhry, vice president, Dr Salman Haseeb, secretary information, and others while speaking at a press conference at Doctors’ Hostel in Services Hospital on Saturday.

"If administration of hospitals tried to give false data to the chief justice, we will definitely bring the correct facts and figures and present before the court," they said.

Dr Maroof Vaince said that Young Doctors Association would not go on strike but regularly issue white paper on dearth of facilities, equipment, medicines, etc., in public sector hospitals one by one to expose the real face of the government and its health authorities in the province.

“We will hold seminars in each hospital and meet human rights and labour organisations, doctors’ and lawyers’ associations, journalists, civil society and cross section of society to convey our point across regarding real situation on ground, which belies the claims of the minister and the secretary of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education about the 'satisfactory' report on health sector to the chief minister, Punjab,” they added.

Dr Maroof Vaince said that the profitable departments of hospitals like Radiology and Pathology were being sold out to the favorite companies.

He said that the situation in the government hospitals was far more serious, adding that there was 80 percent dearth of faculty in basic science subjects and 50 percent shortage of faculty in specialised fields.

“We will not let the authorities privatise health facilities and deprive poor patients of their right to healthcare free of cost. We will resist such an attempt as these hospitals are made from people’s money,” he added.

He said that the claims of free medical services were just a fraud and people didn’t have access to lifesaving drugs in government hospitals. “The privatised hospitals are hiring staff on ad hoc basis, which paves way for financial exploitation of the employees and is tantamount to destroying the system.

He said that the water supply system of government hospitals was centuries’ People ar getting sick due to the unhygienic water instead of recovering from the diseases, he added.