Patients suffer as doctors’ strike against MTI Act enters 11th day

MULTAN: Patients and their relatives continued to suffer as the strike of doctors and paramedics against the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act entered the eleventh day here on Monday. All the doctors, paramedics and nurses closed OPDs, X-ray, radiology and blood testing laboratories at Nishtar and other hospitals. The protesting doctors and paramedics also took out a big rally from Nishtar Health University, which ended at District Jail Chowk. They chanted slogans against the MTI Act.

They also staged a sit-in at District Jail Chowk. The National Nurses Association also joined the protest rally. Criticising the Punjab government, the health professionals vowed their protest would continue till the withdrawal of MTI Act.

The health professionals said that the MTI Act would cause severe financial constraints to the employees. They claimed that the contract jobs would be enforced phase-wise in hospitals after imposition of the MTI Act. They said that the doctors wanted improvement in the health sector and ready to submit proposals to the government in this regard. The government should think positively instead of imposing its decisions, they added.