Paramedics plan protest after Eid

Islamabad : The Paramedical Staff Association of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) while regretting a delay in upgradation of paramedics working at the federal government health institutions has called an important meeting after Eid ul Fitr to decide the future action plan.

A meeting of the Paramedical Staff Association held here observed that the issue of upgradation of paramedics had been put in cold storage for the last five years. The move for upgradation of paramedics was initiated by the then Capital Administration and Development Division in 2016.

Muhammad Arshad Khan, who is general secretary of the All Pakistan Paramedical Staff Federation while briefing the meeting said the last two federal secretaries of health had also approved the case while recommending to send the same to the Ministry of Finance and Establishment Division. But, he regretted that in the last two years, no action had been taken. It was decided that the Association would meet after Eid on May 29 to discuss options of protest and strike. "Instead of recognising services of paramedics who are like backbone in the health sector, they are being ignored altogether," the meeting regretted.

The participants of the meeting demanded of the Prime Minister Imran Khan, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr. Nosheen Hamid, Special Assistant to the Health Dr. Faisal Sultan and Federal Secretary Health to order immediate upgradation of paramedics of Federal Government health institution as was done in the case of their colleagues in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province.

Meanwhile, the administration of the PIMS only two days back wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health mentioning upgradation of para medics as proposed by Vice Chancellor of then Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University on March 15, 2016. The PIMS administration told the Ministry of Health that it was the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance and Establishment Division to take a decision about upgradation of the paramedical staff.