Young doctors’ woes heard

Islamabad: The threat served by the young doctors of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) appears to have been given serious consideration as Thursday witnessed, not only the registration of a First Investigation Report (FIR) to probe the incident wherein the attendants of a patient battered the doctor on duty, but also issuance of show cause notices to the hospital’s security guards for lack of diligence that night, and formation of a committee for provision of improved security to doctors.

The FIR has been registered in the Karachi Company Police Station and Sub-Inspector Mukhtar has been nominated for investigation of the case. Nadeem Akhtar—the father of the deceased patient Shanzay Nadeem—one Nasir, and 10 other unidentified persons have been nominated in the FIR.

The FIR places considerable onus of the incident on the security guards of PIMS, who failed to reach the site on time, and did not act to defend the doctor when they eventually arrived. Copies of the FIR have been shared with the young doctors, who had served a 48-hour ultimatum to the government, threatening a full-fledged protest on Friday morning if it fails to provide foolproof security cover to them during duty hours, and if it does not immediately arrest the culprits who assaulted Dr. Saqib.