Young doctors at it again!

The Young Doctor’s Association (YDA) resumed their strike against the provincial government on Monday, ending their month-long hiatus. The doctors, who are pushing for the revision of their service structures, have often come under fire from the public as well as the government for disrupting the healthcare system and putting hundreds of patients’ lives at risk.
In the latest phase of their strike, the YDA refused to work in the indoor and outdoor wards as well as the operating theatres of hospitals across the province.
The doctors said they would not call off the strike until the Punjab government issued notifications for the revision of their service structures, as had been decided during an earlier agreement between the YDA and the provincial government.
YDA members said they had, in the past, called off their strike after a few days as they were aware that the strike put their patients at risk. However, they said this time they will continue the strike for an indefinite period of time as they had ‘had enough’ with the provincial government’s procrastination when it came to solving their problems. The doctors added that if the government refused to fulfill their demands, they will boycott the emergency wards. While the doctors remained adamant about continuing their strike, the patients and their attendants affected by it, criticised the move, saying the doctors had not considered the consequences their actions would have on the patients.
Ahmed, a resident of Mardan, said he had brought his mother to Lahore to be treated at the Lahore General Hospital, but had so far, been unable to have her surgery scheduled due to the strike. He said his resources were wearing thin every passing day that they were forced to stay in the city.
Other attendants said they had tried to get their relatives’ registered on the emergency list as the doctors on duty only perform emergency procedures in case of the strike, but had failed as others had greased the palms of the doctors to jump the queue.
Patients at other government hospitals also complained of the lack of empathy on the doctors’ part, while also slamming the government for dragging out the issue for so long.
“The government should fulfill the demands of the doctors to facilitate the patients, if nothing else,” said Zohaib, a patient at the Services Hospital.The senior doctors and nurses left to look after the deluge of patients said they were at the end of their tether with the on-again, off-again strike, adding that they too had worked for meager salaries at the start of their careers. The YDA had taken their strike across the province in April, after restricting it to Lahore. The association was protesting against the transfer of trainees and medical officers. The YDA kept the outdoor units of the hospitals open during the initial phases of the strike which has since continued to cause misery to the patients and other medical staff, while inviting numerous petitions filed in the courts against the YDA. A few senior doctors at the Lahore General Hospital also called a press conference to criticise the move, but failed to convince the doctors to end their strike.