The authorities of two major public sector hospitals of Islamabad, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Poly Clinic, have turned a blind eye to the difficulties faced by the patients who visit these hospitals from the far-flung areas as the doctors continued their strike on Saturday.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the federal hospitals is on strike against the proposed Health Personnel Scale (HPS), leaving the Outdoor Patient Departments (OPDs) ineffective. As a result, a large number of PIMS and Poly Clinic patients were suffering from negligence on Saturday.
Patients, including children, women and senior citizens are searching for doctors. “My grandson got a chest infection. I went twice to PIMS and once to Poly Clinic, but the hospital staff refused to facilitate me due to the closure of the OPD,” said Humaira Ijaz, who had come from Rawat. A few patients were seen using the reference of influential people to receive immediate check up while a majority of the patients were seen sitting out side the premises of these hospitals on benches and grounds in open air.
The administration has, in a show of inflexibility, refused to meet the demands of those medical and non-medical staff who refused to opt for the HPS scheme. The patients are forced to go to other hospitals and receive costly treatment. The patients especially those who could not afford treatment from private health clinics talking to this scribe said if the authorities concerned did not pay the attention to the issue, the situation could get worse and the patients would suffer much more.
“It’s a issue between the hospitals staff and government but only patients has to suffer a great deal as almost 25 days has been spend while medical staff of these hospitals are on strike,” patients said.
They demanded government to solve the issue as soon as possible as it is a matter of life and death to many seriously ill patients.
