Doctors, paramedics intensify strike

LAHORE:The prolonged tug-of-war between provincial health authorities and doctors’ alliance has taken a huge toll on poor patients, who are virtually deprived of their basic right to healthcare in public sector hospitals in the province.

The Grand Health Alliance’s strike in government hospitals entered 22nd day on Thursday, which multiplied the miseries of poor patients both physically and financially, yet it failed to move the authorities and doctors to reach some kind of settlement to restore sanity in hospitals in the province.

The doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals have intensified their protest and boycotted duties in indoor wards on third consecutive day Thursday after continuing withdrawal of services from Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and Operation Theatres (OTs) and Central Laboratories for all elective procedures for 22nd day on the trot against enforcement of Punjab Medical Teaching Institutions (Reforms) Act 2019, which they believed, is a way to privatise public sector hospitals in the province. However, the protest was intensified after Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) initiated departmental action with terminations and disciplinary action under Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006 against protesting members of Grand Health Alliance.

However, the GHA Chairman Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry announced resuming working in South Punjab hospitals to provide healthcare services to the injured victims of tragic accident of train fire in Liaquatpur in Rahim Yar Khan on humanitarian grounds. “The doctors, nurses, paramedics have started working in Burn Unit of Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, and Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan to ensure provision of efficient and effective treatment to the burn victims of Tezgam Express,” he informed media on Thursday.

Dr Salman Haseeb, however, condemned Punjab government and SHC&ME Department for failing to fulfill its earlier commitment of establishing burn units in teaching hospitals after tragic incident of oil tanker fire in Ahmadpur Sharqia, Bahawalpur, in 2017.

“Had government taken its commitment of establishing burn units seriously, we could have provided state-of-the-art treatment to the burn patients in Thursday’s train fire tragedy and saved quite a few lives as well,” he added. Barring in South Punjab hospitals, the young consultants, young doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and allied health professionals practically boycotted healthcare services, except emergency services in public sector hospitals across the province. The GHA members staged a protest sit-in in front of office of Vice-Chancellor of King Edward Medical University (KEMU) as well as in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Jinnah Hospital to register their protest.

Thousands of patients are being deprived of treatment of minor operations, consultation, diagnosis and treatment of their ailments and injuries on a daily basis, while the worst hit were those who had been travelling from remote districts to reach the mega teaching institutions only to be disappointed due to lack of availability of required treatment in hospitals. They cursed the government and the doctors for victimising to achieve their respective objectives. “The poor patients have literally become a rolling stone due to strike in hospitals and a left to suffer in disease and poverty,” said Iftikhar Hussain, a labourer at a local kiln in Sheikhupura, who had come to Lahore to receive specialised treatment and consultation for his chest disease, here in Mayo Hospital Thursday.

However, an extraordinary rush of patients and their attendants has been witnessed in emergency wards of all hospitals, where consultation services are also being offered to OPD patients. Several patients have to go to the private hospitals for elective procedures, which puts extra financial burden on patients.

The GHA Chairman Dr Salman Haseeb urged the government to reverse all victimisation of protesting doctors, nurses and paramedical staff and start a meaningful dialogue through a high-powered committee to find a solution to restore healthcare services in hospitals. “The GHA shall extend the strike to emergency wards if their demands of reversal of victimisation and withdrawal of MTI Act are not accepted,” he warned.