Doctors manhandled, Mayo OPD shut down

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LAHORE: Mayo Hospital doctors closed the Out Patients Department (OPD) on Wednesday in protest against the manhandling of medical staff, including two female colleagues, by families of two patients who succumbed to bullet injuries in the hospital’s surgical wards late on Tuesday night.
The two patients were being treated for serious bullet injuries in the north surgical and east surgical wards of Mayo Hospital for the last several days.
According to Mayo Hospital doctors, both the patients had liver, intestine, gall bladder and chest injuries and were received in a critical condition.
They said that the patients survived till Tuesday only because of their treatment, and the doctors on duty had informed the attendants that the patients’ condition was critical and there was little hope for their survival. One patient died on Tuesday at 11 pm, while the other died at 2am on Wednesday – three hours later.
The relatives of the two patients lost control over their emotions and thrashed the medical staff on duty, including female doctors.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Young Doctors Association (YDA) General Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi said the doctors will remain on strike until the accused were arrested.
He said the police have registered an FIR but have not yet arrested the accused despite the doctors having identified the assailants.
He said only six policemen had been deployed to guard the entire hospital. “It has been two moths now that we have been asking for police security.
We even met the CCPO who promised the provision of adequate security, but nothing has been done as yet. The two female doctors have resigned from the surgical ward after the incident and have decided to work in a minor ward instead, as such incidents are rampant in surgical wards,” Kazmi said.