Contrary to their own decision, nurses took to roads for third day on Saturday creating crisis situation in hospitals and continued their protest and strike until the Health Department notified them of the decision reached upon by the government.
The nurses had announced on Friday to continue their strike without coming on the roads but about 200 of them occupied the road outside the Press Club at around 10am and stayed there till late afternoon till after the meeting with the government ended. Following the meeting, the strike was called off however nurses did not report to duties till Saturday evening and termed the calling off strike a “mere postponement” for the period agreed with government to resolve their issues and warned to protest if their demands were not met. “We were not sure if the government would fulfill its promises or not that is why we came out on the roads again,” Nurses’ representative Razia Sultan of Mian Munshi Hospital said.
A meeting of 14 member nurses’ delegation was held on Saturday with committee led by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah which included Chairman Parliamentary Committee for Health Dr Saeed Elahi, advisor to chief minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz and health secretary. Sanaullah ordered the withdrawal of cases against nurses and also directed the Health Department to not take departmental actions against protesting nurses.
A notification of the decisions was issued late evening after which the nurses called off their strike. Nurses, eligible for promotion, were asked to complete their documental work within two weeks for being promoted to upper grades. For raise in the pay package, a committee including representatives of nurses was formed which would finalise the raise in pays within 30 days. The nurses were also assured of implementation on the notification of pay protection of the nurses regularised last year after almost a decade of service. Only a few nurses reported to their duty which caused the patients to suffer another day. Even emergencies of hospitals witnessed low attendance of nurses creating problems for doctors also.
Jinnah Hospital CEO Dr Javed Akram told Pakistan Today that only 28 percent nurses had reported during the strike. He said for emergency and ICU he had requested them to be present while for wards and OPD doctors and dispensers were given extra charge to compensate for the absence of nurses.
However, patients expressed to have faced difficulties during the strike and a death in Medical Unit II of Jinnah Hospital was also said to have occured due to non-availability of nurse to give medicine on time. Nurses said were aware of the miseries of public but they had been forced to come on roads. “We waited for the government to address our issues and comply with its own announcement, we held meetings with the officials several time but mere assurances and no action forced us to go on strike and come on roads,” said staff nurse Shazia of Services Hospital.
