LAHORE – “Can a doctor check women of his family in open tents? If not, then why are they subjecting women with pregnancy and gynae problems to checkups in the open,” said Nazeeran, 57, who had come to have her pregnant daughter checked at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital’s Outdoor Patient Department (OPD).
Nazeeran said that she had come from Narrang Mandi to get her daughter checked for a third time, but she was too upset to see the negative behaviour of the young doctors and urged the Punjab CM to take action against such doctors. A large number of pregnant women visit public-sector hospitals daily but have to suffer as protesting doctors have established tents on roads to check patients.
Punjab Health Department sources disclosed that more than 350 women visited Sir Ganga Ram Hospital daily, 410 came to Mayo Hospital, 380 to Services Hospital, 550 to Lady Wellington Hospital, 520 to Lady Aitchison Hospital, 295 to Jinnah Hospital and 168 women visited General Hospital. For women it is not less than a nightmare to be checked by doctors on the roads. Screening and other tests of pregnant women should have been done in privacy but now everything is being done on the roads causing embarrassment to women.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ijaz Ahmed Sheikh told Pakistan Today that the administration had tried its level best to provide treatment to all patients including gynaecology patients. He said that the hospital management had provided tents for gynecology patients so that women’s privacy could be maintained.
A gynaecologist at Services Hospital, seeking anonymity, said that pregnant women felt ashamed while getting treatment in the open even in front of other women. “Better results could be achieved when a woman has a complete peace of mind that could be ensured only through an indoor checkup. If a pregnant woman is given treatment in the open, it badly affects both the mother and the child,” she said.
Punjab Health Parliamentary Secretary Saeed Elahi told Pakistan Today that pregnant women dealt with a natural process and need to be treated as special cases. He said that the young doctors should change their behaviour especially for gynaecology patients and accommodate them in room and wards, where they could feel comfortable and secure and if they did not do so, the Punjab government will take stern action against them.
Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) General Secretary Dr Azhar Chaudhry said that the young doctors were fighting for their rights but had adopted a very wrong way and should take the PMA into confidence. He said that the young doctors should allow gynecology patients to be treated in rooms so that privacy could be maintained according to social customs.
