-Wrong treatment during the strike of doctors results in child’s death at Sukkur.
-PTI delegation expresses solidarity with protesting doctors
KARACHI: The doctors of Sindh continued boycott of outpatient departments (OPDs) and operation theatres (OTs) in all government hospitals throughout Sindh province on Thursday, demanding authorities of the Sindh Health Department to issue of notification of increased salaries and allowance for all doctors of the province.
The strike call was given jointly by Sindh Young Doctors Association (YDA), Sindh Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), and Functional Doctors Forum (FDF).
Protesting doctors chanted slogans against Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Secretary Health Saeed Awan and other high-ups of the Sindh government for not issuing notification of the promised increase in salaries.
Thousands of patients were seen waiting helplessly to be treated at the OPDs of major Karachi hospitals, including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, National Institute of Child Health, Sindh Government Lyari General Hospital and other government-run hospitals in the province.
Similar scenes were also witnessed in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Badin, Dadu, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Thatta, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar Tando Allahyar, Jamshoro and other cities of the province where doctors completely boycotted the OPDs and OTs.
Reliable sources at government hospitals told PPI that scores of planned surgeries were cancelled again because of doctor strike.
However, Karachi Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Sabir Memon said that elective surgeries were performed as per schedule at his hospital with the help of postgraduate doctors.
Talking to PPI, Sindh YDA Vice-President Dr Waris Ali Jakhrani said that doctors fully realise the hardships of poor patients which is why they are performing emergency duties as per schedule.
He said that the demands of Sindh doctors’ include a raise in salaries on the pattern of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), promotions and protection.
Dr Jakhrani said that YDA will continue the boycott of OPDs and OTs all over the province until their demands were met. He said that no official of the health department has contacted the doctors so far; therefore, the protest will continue.
Further, a delegation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by MNA Aftab Siddiqui and MPA Khurram Sher Zaman paid a visit of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to show solidarity with the protesting doctors.
Talking to the media, MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman said that the lethargy and slackness of the Sindh Health Department have compelled the doctors to go on strike, adding that it was the Sindh government that has destroyed health and education sectors.
He demanded that Chief Minister (CM) Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah should immediately resolve the issue at the earliest and announced an audit of the accounts of three hospitals including JPMC, National Institute of Child Health and Cardiovascular Diseases.
ONE MORE MINOR PASSES AWAY DURING DOCTORS’ STRIKE
Owing to the doctors’ strike, one more child died in the wee hours of Thursday in Sukkur.
The eight-month-old child breathed his last due to the lack of medical care that could have been provided if the doctors were on duty.
The child’s mother, while speaking to the media, said that she had already lost a child due to a similar doctors’ strike five years ago. “Now, after five years I have lost another son because of medics,” she lamented.
Giving details of the tragedy, she said that although her child was only suffering from fever, a doctor administered an injection to the child after which he stopped breathing.
Earlier on Tuesday, a three-year-old child who had received burns injuries died at a hospital in Gujarat after protesting doctors refused to treat him.
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