LAHORE – Young doctors have decided to protest once again on Tuesday as Pakistan Today learnt on Monday that at least one million patients have suffered due to the ongoing strikes of the doctors for enhanced salary packages. On Monday, the young doctors decided to stage a sit-in front of the Chief Minister’s House and observe a complete strike in Out-Patient Departments (OPD) in all public sector hospitals as part of their ongoing protests.
Health Department sources disclosed to Pakistan Today that more than 980,000 patients had not been properly treated in Punjab’s public sector hospital since the start of the doctors’ strike. The figure could not be verified from Punjab Health Special Secretary Waseem Mukhtar as his department has yet to compile a data of the number of patients who have suffered on account of OPD closure in Punjab’s teaching hospitals and district headquarter hospitals (DHQs).
Punjab Health Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad has, however, announced that the health department would now prepare a complete list of the affected patients.
Sources revealed that almost 35,000 patients visited Punjab’s 13 teaching hospitals and 300 district headquarters hospital’s (DHQ) every day. “According to the daily basis chart of public sector hospitals, Mayo Hospital treats more than 4,000 patients a day, Lahore General Hospital and Jinnah Hospital treat about 2,500 patients each a day, Services Hospital treats 1,800 patients a day, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital treats 1,400 patients a day, the Children Hospital treats 1,000 patients a day, Rawalpindi’s 3 hospitals treat 2,000 patients a day and Multan’s 3 hospitals, including Nishtar Hospital treat about 2,200 patients a day,” the sources said, adding that most of these patients were poor people.
Young Doctors Association (YDA) press secretary Dr Aftab Ashraf told Pakistan Today that the doctors were tired of listening to government promises and they had now decided to block the roads linked to hospitals and also hold a sit-in in front of the CM House on The Mall. “Doctors will boycott OPD services and block the roads linked to public sector hospitals. After that they would march towards the Punjab Assembly and hold a sit-in in front of the CM house,” Dr Aftab said.
Responding to the strike call, Punjab Health Special Secretary Waseem Mukhtar said that the government had already met the demands of doctors to raise their pay packages sufficiently and no justification was left for them to continue their strike. However, Mukhtar could not confirm whether the doctors at the district headquarter hospitals were part of the ongoing protests. “I do not think DHQs are part of the protest. About 35,000 patients visit the OPDS of teaching and DHQ hospitals every day and the young doctors have announced that they will only observe strike in teaching hospitals,” he said.
