Paramedics continue protest

PESHAWAR: Despite reports that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had ordered up-gradation, ?the paramedics continued their strike and kept healthcare services suspended for second consecutive day on Saturday in all the public sector hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Except emergency, the paramedics suspended all types of health services in the three tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, ie Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Hayatabad Medical Complex ( HMC), and Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and district headquarters hospitals, tehsil hospitals as well as rural health centres (RHCs) and basic health units (BHUs) of the province.
President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Paramedics Association Johar Ali said the? chief minister had called for a meeting and directed all the concerned officials of health finance and establishment departments to immediately resolve their issues.
He complained that after the chief minister left, the concerned officials stopped taking interest in their issue and that is why they decided to continue their strike.?
The paramedics asked the government to approve the summary regarding the upgradation of their services or else they would stage a sit-in outside the building of the Provincial Assembly tomorrow.
The decision was taken during an emergency meeting of the provincial action committee of the paramedics held here. The members of the committee from all the four teaching hospitals and affiliated colleges attended the meeting.
The meeting asked Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to approve the summary forwarded to him by the health and finance departments to address the concerns of the paramedics.
The meeting said that non-approval of the summary regarding the upgradation of services of paramedics was creating misunderstanding among the government and paramedics.
They said the paramedical staff was performing duty at the emergency department, casualty, blood bank, and emergency wards despite launching the protest campaign.
The paramedics also decided not to perform duties in the anti-polio campaign started from today.