The Young Doctors Association continued its strike on Friday in the Outdoor Patient Departments (OPDs) of public sector hospitals across Punjab to demand increased facilities and an improved service structure. The strike in the outdoor wards continued on its 12th successive day as the young doctors protested against what they called the government’s indifference towards their demands. The strike has caused hardships for the patients and their attendants, while increasing the number of patients in the emergency wards.
The doctors’ association rejected the enforcement of the Essential Services Act terming it a blackmailing tactic.
On Thursday, the Punjab government decided to enforce the Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, from Friday in a bid to foil the ongoing strike by the doctors in the public hospitals. Under the act, the Punjab government, through the supervising officer, the Punjab Health secretary in this case, will be able to take action against the doctors who fail to perform their duties. The maximum punishment under the act was one year imprisonment. The provincial government was also considering the deployment of police officials at the OPDs of the public health facilities.
Meanwhile, the ongoing strike in the country’s most populous province has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC). The petitioner, advocate Azhar Siddique, requested the court to take strict notice of the doctor’s attitude as it was against the constitution and the people’s fundamental rights. He also requested the LHC to cancel the licenses of the protesting doctors and to hold them responsible for the deaths (if any) that occurred while they were on strike.
Meanwhile Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah on Friday termed the Young Doctors Association’s (YDA) demands as ‘invalid and unjustifiable. Talking to the media, the minister said the protesting doctors were not sincere with their profession. “No one will be allowed to let the patients suffer while the doctors go on strike,” he said. Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique urged the protesting doctors to tread the path of negotiations instead of striking for the resolution of the issues they faced. Talking to the media, he said the strike called by the young doctors has become a nuisance for the patients hailing from the underprivileged segments of the society, adding that the young doctors’ strike is against the dignity of their profession. Salman also noted that the strike is not a solution to the doctor’s problems and that the doctors were loosing the sympathies of the public.
