Group begins mediating between govt, health workers in KP

PESHAWAR: A group of individuals, led by former tribal parliamentarian Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal, has started mediation between the government and protesting health workers as the doctors, paramedics, and nursing staff continued strike for the 13th consecutive day on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and all other employees of the public sector hospitals have been on strike since September 27 against the newly adopted Health Regional Authority and District Health Authority in the province.

They have been boycotting duties and have stopped providing services to the patients.

Besides paralysing services in the three tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, including Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex, all the health workers in KP refused to attend patients in the out-patient departments, operation theatres, radiology and pathology. It is the longest ever protest of the doctors and their support staff in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This time, the government has completely kept itself away from protest of the doctors and suffering of the patients caused by the strike of the health workers. According members of the Grand Health Alliance (GHA), an umbrella organisation of all associations of the doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and non-technical employees, a former tribal parliamentarian Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal and some other people initiated efforts to mediate between the government and the protesting health workers.

They held a meeting with GHA representatives and offered to release all the doctors and paramedics arrested by the police and sent to Mardan jail during a protest on September 27 from LRH. They wanted the protesting health workers to call off the strike, which they refused and vowed to continue their protest till all their demands are accepted. Meanwhile, the doctors have started attending private clinics.

In the Mardan Medical Complex, the doctors a few days ago started the institution-based private practice but stopped attending their clinics in the hospital when the health workers went on strike.

All the doctors stopped attending clinics in MMC and shifted their clinics to their previous private buildings.