- Health dept spokesman calls protesting YDA doctors ‘miscreants’
The Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department (SHC&MED) has formed an inquiry committee to probe the tragic incident of the death of an 18-month-old baby in Mayo Hospital, Lahore reportedly due to the refusal of treatment by the protesting junior doctors.
The heirs of the deceased held the protesting doctors responsible for the child’s death. A three-member inquiry committee consisting of Professor Dr Qazi Saeed, Children Hospital Medical Director Prof Dr Ehsan Waheed Rathore and Professor of Medicine KEMU Prof Dr Irshad Ahmed Qureshi has been tasked to submit its finding within three days. Prof Qazi Saeed will be working as the convener of the committee, according to the notification available with Pakistan Today that was issued on Friday.
Meanwhile, the primary and secondary healthcare department has started taking action against the protesting nurses by taking a plea of their continuous absent from the hospital. Raheela Riasat, Saba Noor, Rooshana Irshad and Raheela Asghar have been terminated as they were working on the contract basis. These terminated nurses were working on the Basic Pay Scale (BPS-16). Moreover, six other nurses have been placed on the disposal of the department and action under the Punjab Employees Efficiencies, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) act of 2006 will be taken against them.
According to health department spokesman Ikhlaq Khan, the strategy of the department remained successful as the protest of doctors has failed miserably. He told Pakistan Today that the hospital management had launched 6 First Information Reports (FIRs) against the ‘goons’ and ‘miscreants’ of Mayo Hospital as they tried to close down the emergency forcefully. “Some new doctors and nurses have been hired by the department to give proper treatment to the poor patients,” he said.
Young Doctors Association (YDA) spokesman from Mayo Hospital Dr Zafarullah told Pakistan Today that the doctor’s community could not be threatened by launching fake FIRs against them. He alleged the police officials were not launching the FIR against the secretary health on the application submitted by doctors.
Our sit-in and boycott of the wards will not be ended till the restoration of our colleagues, he said, adding that no one from the government side has approached them yet.
Traffic gridlock: Meanwhile, an adjournment motion has been submitted by Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid against the protest of young doctors. He said in his motion that poor patients were badly suffering by the protest of doctors and the miseries of commuters have also been increased manifold due to the blockades at Mall Road.
The situation was worse for the commuters as hundreds of employees of Agriculture Department’s water board management also staged the sit-in outside the chief minister secretariat at GOR I.
These employees of the water board management were demanding their regularisation letters from the government as they have been working in the department for last 12 years.
