Doctors expand strike to indoor wards

LAHORE: The Grand Health Alliance (GHA) expanded its strike to indoor wards on Tuesday in retaliation to departmental action against doctors and nurses for taking part in the ongoing strike in hospitals in the province.

The Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) Department has terminated five doctors, and initiated action against three doctors and eight nurses, under Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006, on charges of misconduct and negligence.

Following GHA announcement of boycott of services in indoor wards of all hospitals on Tuesday, doctors and medical staff abandoned their patients and left their duties in indoor wards of their hospitals.

The young consultants, young doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and allied health professionals continued strike at the Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) of public sector hospitals across the province including Lahore on 20th consecutive day on Tuesday to protest against, what they called, privatization of hospitals under Punjab Medical Teaching Institutions (Reforms) Act 2019. They boycotted their duties at OPDs, operation theatres, radiological and pathological labs at teaching hospitals including Mayo Hospital, Services Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore as well as mega teaching hospitals in all other districts across the province.

The miseries of the poor patients multiplied due to lack of healthcare services in indoor and outdoor wards and OTs in hospitals of Punjab. An extraordinary rush of patients was witnessed in emergency wards. Many patients had to return without treatment, while others, who could not get treatment even in emergency wards but could afford, went to private infirmaries to get the desired treatment.

As government did not initiate any meaningful dialogue with the protesting medics, GHA Chairman Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry threatened to extend strike to emergency wards if the legislation was not withdrawn. He reiterated GHA’s demands saying MTI Act and ordinance must be taken back; meaningful dialogue would only be started with a high-powered committee and that too only when all victimisation of doctors, nurses and medical professionals was withdrawn.