Closure of health emergency services feared as ECP summons doctors, paramedics for duties

Health authorities in Karachi have warned that services at Emergency and Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) of many hospitals in the city would not be available on Election Day after the Election Commission of Pakistan has summoned more than 1,500 staff of over 83 hospitals for election duties.

Medical staff are generally not sought for election duties as they are required to serve at health facilities in case of emergencies on national days, holidays and even during elections, but this year, hundreds of doctors, paramedics and nurses have been summoned to perform election duties instead of treating patients, health officials told The News on Tuesday.

According to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Senior Director Health and Medical Services Dr Birbal Genani, the emergency department and OPDs of the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) remained closed a day ago till the evening after doctors and paramedics were summoned by returning officers (ROs) for election duties. “OPDs were held after 7:30pm after doctors returned from their trainings,” he said.

KMC health officials said that as many as 600 doctors and more than 900 paramedics and nurses have been asked to perform duties on July 25, but they were not sure what would happen in case of any violence or emergency as doctors and paramedics would be performing election duties instead of being in the hospitals.

Officials claimed that in addition to doctors and paramedics from the KIHD, health experts and staff from Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Spencer Eye Hospital, Sobhraj Maternity Hospital and several other health facilities have been asked to perform election duties and in case of refusal, they are being threatened with non-bailable warrants of their arrests and terrorised through area police.

“Doctors and paramedics are extremely concerned and they are questioning as to why they are being summoned to election duties as they are part of essential services whose services cannot be used except for serving the ailing humanity, Genani said, adding this has never happened in the past.

Sindh health department officials also confirmed that several of their employees, including doctors of BPS 17 and 18, as well as paramedics, dispensers and nurses from various hospitals have been summoned for election duties and those refusing were being threatened with arrest warrants. Health Secretary Dr Usman Chachar said the ECP had sought lists of health officials for election duties, and even though they had requested that these service providers be exempt from such duties, their request was not entertained.

According to him, several employees from various hospitals of provincial government including Lyari General Hospital, Services Hospitals, Basic Health Units and dispensaries had been summoned for election duties. He added that majority of doctors and paramedical staff of major tertiary-care hospitals had however been exempted from the election duties in Karachi.