PMA, eye specialists’ body decry attacks on healthcare providers, demand protection

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and Ophthalmological Society of Pakistan (OSP) Karachi on Friday strongly condemned the recent violent attack on doctors by relatives of a patient at a private tertiary-care health facility in the city. They also demanded countrywide protection to the healthcare providers at their workplaces.

Addressing a press conference at the PMA House, PMA office-bearers Dr Sharif Hashmani and Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro along with Dr Qazi Wasiq of the OSP condemned the growing incidence of violence against doctors and other healthcare providers and asked the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Chief of Army Staff and Sindh Chief Minister to initiate an impartial inquiry into the recent incident where a male and female ophthalmologist were manhandled by a serving military officer.

They said the incident took place at the ophthalmology department of a renowned healthcare facility, and claimed that the assailant used foul language and assaulted the senior female doctor and consultant ophthalmologist over the argument regarding the surgery of his wife.

The PMA and OSP office-bearers said it was very unfortunate that people were attacking and harassing doctors at a time when they were risking their lives while working during the Covid-19 pandemic. The frontline health workers were being respected around the globe but maltreated in Pakistan, they lamented.

“This is very sad and disappointing that every now and then, doctors are faced with lack of security and violent behaviour of patients’ relatives. This results into stress and unsafe environment,” PMA Karachi General Secretary Dr Shoro said.

He also criticised the Sindh Healthcare Commission for failing to stop such incidents. He maintained that it was entirely the responsibility of the government to provide security to the doctors and the Sindh Healthcare Commission should play its due role prescribed in its charter in this regard.

“We once again request the government to protect the doctors on a priority basis. Security for doctors is a very serious issue we have been continuously raising our concerns for that,” the PMA office-bearer added.

He warned that if such incidents continued to take place in the future, doctors and healthcare workers reserved the right to chalk out their future strategy because violence was not acceptable to them.

“We demand Honorable Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Chief of Army Staff and Chief Minister Sindh to take appropriate action and initiate immediate and impartial judicial inquiry”, Dr Wasiq said.