SZH doctors end 19-day strike

After 19-days long strike of doctors, police dismissed the case against doctors of Sheikh Zayed Hospital on Tuesday. Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and SZH doctors also announced that they were ending their strike and took back their call of a province wide strike. Doctors rallied in Khayaban-e-Jamia Punjab on Tuesday and demanded police quash the FIR. The “victorious” doctors called it result of their unity and struggle while police said that the case was invalidated on merit after due process. Commenting on the whole episode, Punjab Health Parliamentary Secretary Saeed Elahi said that a case under Section 302 of the PPC was registered in case of intentional murder while a patient dieing during treatment was not intentional murder due to which the case was invalid. The Punjab government was unable to resolve the issue in less time, as once a case was registered, only a superintendent of police (SP) could dismiss it and after completion of the due process only, he added.
Although the Health Care Bill was approved but police was yet to be communicated about it, he said. On the Health Care Commission, Saeed said that it was also yet to be made functional despite its announcement. PMA Lahore General Secretary Dr Izhar Chaudhry said that they had ended the strike as soon as their legal demand was accepted. He said that after promulgation of the Health Care Bill, police was not authorised to register any case of negligence in treatment unless the Health Care Commission found the doctor guilty of negligence. Doctors did not want to create problems for the common man but were forced to do so and now as promised, doctors immediately ended the strike, he said. Muslim Town Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammad Qasim told Pakistan Today that after viewing the autopsy report, chemical examination and medical board, it was found that the patient died because of pneumonia and tuberculosis and there was no negligence of the doctor in his death. He said that due to absence of any evidence against the doctors, the case was dismissed.