Doctors at Karachi’s largest public sector hospital ended their protest on Tuesday after two days of boycotting out-patient departments and ward services to demand payment of health risk allowance, increase in salaries and promotion of doctors.
The Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) announced that it was calling off its boycott. Paramedical staff, however, has decided to continue with their protest and boycott of hospital and ward services.
At least nine patients lost their lives in the two days of boycotts at the JPMC because of a lack of available doctors and paramedical staff at the hospital. According to reports, five people lost their lives at medicine department at the JPMC, two at the orthopedic and two at the emergency since the doctors went on strike on Monday.
Hundreds of patients visiting the public sector hospital from different areas of the city and far-flung areas of the province faced immense difficulties and had to return when they learned doctors and paramedics were on strike for a second day and medical examinations at out-patient departments were closed due to protests.
The boycott of duties also extended to ward services and treatment of already-admitted patients was badly affected while work in laboratories and radiology departments also remained suspended.
The doctors, paramedical staff and employees of JPMC claimed that they were entitled to receive health risk allowance equal to one basic salary which was being paid to federal and provincial health employees except for Sindh.
A spokesman for the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) said that the administration would review the salaries of postgraduate medical employees in other province and then increase the salaries and allowances of JPMC employees accordingly, after which the doctors called off the boycott on Tuesday.