Sir: I would like to highlight the terrible condition of government hospitals of Karachi. Patients in government hospitals do not get the attention of doctors even in serious condition, what to say of treatment. The management of government hospitals has no sense of responsibility and does little to keep its staff motivated to serve the poor. A major portion of the population of Pakistan belongs to the poor class; they are the ones who go to government hospitals. The agony is that these people are treated like dirt. They have to wait in long queues in an unhygienic environment for hours, only to find a rude nurse and doctor to scribble a few lines on the prescription without telling what really ails them. Nearly every patient is given the same advice. In the wake of load shedding, people suffer in heat. It is my request to doctors to revisit the oath that they take on embracing this noble profession. Did not they pledge to serve humanity? Did their oath differentiate between the rich and the poor? Medicine is a profession of compassion. If the government is not keeping to its oaths, at least the doctors should. FARAH JAMIL Karachi