GHA rallies against MTI Act

LAHORE:The Grand Health Alliance (GHA) held a protest demonstration in front of Punjab Assembly on Monday against presenting of the Punjab Medical Teaching Institutes (Reforms) Act 2019 in the provincial parliament for approval.

Under the banner of Grand Health Alliance (GHA), a large number of young consultants, doctors, nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals and healthcare associations staged a sit-in at Faisal Chowk on The Mall, which caused a traffic jam on adjacent roads. A minor clash also occurred between the protesters and police when the former tried to march towards the Punjab Assembly building. A few of the protesters received minor injuries in the process. They urged Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid not to use force against peaceful protesters, adding that it would not work to kill their spirits rather give more impetus to their movement to stop implementation of the MTI Act in hospitals across Punjab.

A Punjab government’s delegation led by Law Minister Raja Basharat and Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Nabeel Awan held negotiations with the protesters, which remained inconclusive and GHA announced continuing their protest.

Law Minister Raja Basharat said that Punjab government had, in principle, decided to present the MTI Act (Reforms) 2019 in the Punjab Assembly, but assured the medical community of redressing their objections vis-à-vis legislation in this regard.

Speaking on the occasion, GHA Chairman Dr Salman Haseeb and Dr Khizer Hayat condemned the government for presenting the “controversial” bill in the Punjab Assembly for approval, which they believed, was aimed to privatise hospitals in the province. “The Punjab government has committed contempt of court because it had earlier given its commitment to the court not to present the bill in the assembly for passage,” they added. The second round of negotiations between the government and GHA will be held on Tuesday (today).