Daily Times

Amidst protests and a barrage of accusations and counter-accusations, the conflict between the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) and the government of Punjab has reached an uncomfortable impasse. Following earlier orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), the doctors announced the resumption of duty in the emergency wards of government-run hospitals across Punjab. Now the LHC has ordered a complete cessation of the strike, while suspending all government actions against the doctors, including terminations, suspensions and show cause notices. The doctors may or may not follow the LHC’s latest orders. The issue does not seem anywhere near a solution. Unless there is an acceptable to both parties way found, the problem, which has already escalated into a full-fledged debacle, will worsen into a situation where the real victim would be the poor patients, already suffering.

The deficit of trust between the two parties intensified when there was a crackdown on the doctors, resulting in arrests and beatings. This came in the wake of accusations of negligence during the doctors’ strike as a result of which patients — most notably a woman and a child –died. Charged with murder, the arrested doctors’ plight hardened their attitude. Furthermore, the issuance of notices to 11 doctors under the PEDA Act and the extension of physical remand by three days have further exacerbated the strained ties between the government and the doctors. The need of the moment is to have a dialogue that would turn forced compliance with the LHC’s orders into an amicable understanding. The YDA has left the final decision to its leadership. The genuine grievances of the YDA should be addressed to the extent possible under straitened financial circumstances. The overworked, underpaid doctors must be given their due rights, which have been promised to them time and again, but these have turned out to be hollow promises. Because this issue could not give the desired political mileage like laptops or other ‘welfare’ schemes, the Punjab government has not accorded it due importance. The brutal handling of this issue has only made matters worse. Police crackdowns, remands and the government’s step motherly attitude cannot achieve anything except to stiffen the young doctors’ resolve. It is imperative to find a middle ground before more patients suffer — untreated and neglected — in government hospitals during this strike. *