Islamabad : Rejecting the government’s decision to place the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) under the administrative control of a Board of Governors (BoG), the All Employees PIMS Restoration Movement (AEPRM) Thursday announced to scale up their ongoing two-hour token protest into a full-fledged strike from today (Friday), thereby bringing the wheels of patient care to a grinding halt.
The hospital’s Out-Patient Department (OPD) will remain closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day till the government accedes to the protesters’ demand to uphold the autonomous status of PIMS as a government institution. While the Intensive Care Units, as well as Operations Theatres and Wards will function as usual, complete closure of the hospital is very much on the cards if the government resists the protesters’ demand.
In a ridiculous but related move, the PIMS administration Thursday suspended a tailor of the Children’s Hospital M Jawad for raising slogans of ‘BoG Namanzoor’ (BoG Unaccaptable) when the Minister and Secretary for Health visited PIMS on February 20. An office order issued by the hospital’s Deputy Executive Director Dr. Zulfiqar Ghouri informs the tailor that since he “loudly shouted the slogans and created an insulting atmosphere for the honourable guests as well as the PIMS administration,” he has been suspended from service with immediate effect and until further orders. The tailor’s act has been seen seen as “gross misconduct” requiring a serious view by the authority.
Similarly, a Show Cause Notice has been issued to Charge Nurse Sadia Bashir for levelling allegations of corruption in the purchase of drugs and cannulas at PIMS during the Minister and Secretary Health’s February 20th visit to PIMS. The nurse is also stated to have drawn the Minister’s attention to construction work being done at PIMS on exorbitant rates. “All these allegations are leveled without any proof, which is an act of misconduct on your part. You are therefore directed to explain the reasons with evidence of the above allegations within three days, failing which disciplinary action will be taken against you,” the explanation letter states.
Talking to this scribe, the spokesman of ARPRM and chairman of Federal Doctors Association Dr. Asfandyar Khan regretted the obstinacy of the Ministry of Health in handling the crisis. “Semi-autonomous status for PIMS will not be acceptable to us at any cost,” he stated, and referred to how “the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar has been pushed to the verge of being de-recognized because of similar experimentation in KPK.” He said, 60 percent of the current patient load at PIMS now originates from Peshawar, where a great hospital has been ruined because of the introduction of a failed system; where the cost of diagnostic tests has either doubled or trebled; and where no free treatment is available to patients other than those possessing the Insaf Sehat Cards.
Dr. Asfandyar added, “We will fully support the government if it works to introduce reforms within the hospital’s existing system, with a focus on improving patient care and eliminating corruption, which is rife in almost all departments. However, we will not permit the dissolution of the existing system and its replacement by a handful of non-technical persons who have the powers to call the shots in every single matter. How can we allow a group of five or six people to manage the affairs of the hospital in abeyance of government rules and regulations?” Dr. Asfandyar termed the decision “a conspiracy against PIMS employees” who, he said, are united in their ranks to subvert any such decision. “We forced the previous government to withdraw its decision to merge PIMS with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, and will not yield this time too,” he added.
Rejecting the formation of the BoG, Dr. Asfandyar threatened closure of Indoor and Emergency services as well if the government does not soften its current posture, which was well articulated by Minister of Health Aamir Mehmood Kiani a day ago when he minced no words in reiterating that the BoG will be formed, come what may. He did, however, assure the protesters (professors, consultants, medical officers, nurses, paramedics, and the hospital’s lower staff) that their rights would be protected, and then left the hospital, angry and in a hurry. On Thursday again, Aamir paid a brief visit to PIMS, saying that he would see to it if the OPD is closed.
Amidst the continuing crisis, it is important to visualise yourself lying in pain on a hospital bed at PIMS. While the mere thought itself is bloodcurdling—even on a normal day when there are no high alerts—will you not curse yourself for ending up in a hospital resounding with noisy slogans and chants of doctors who conveniently push patient care to the backburner when their own interests are at stake? Protests and strikes are deeply-embedded in the culture of PIMS. The government must, therefore, resolve this crisis before any precious lives are lost.
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