Daily Times

LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) Tuesday staged protest rallies yet again against central induction post graduation policy in the provincial metropolis as well as across the province.

Young doctors threatened to continue protest until the Punjab government withdrew the central induction policy.

The Young Doctors Association blocked major roads in the provincial capital and other cities of the province to record their protest.

While raising slogans against the Punjab government, doctors said that the central induction policy announced by the provincial government was preventing doctors from gaining higher education.

They said that at least 250 graduates receive degrees from the Nishtar Medical College every year; however, only nine seats have been reserved for Fellowship of College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS). They warned the Punjab government to expand their protest if it did not withdraw the new policy.

Young doctors serving at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Services Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Lahore General Hospital and Shaikh Zayed Hospital blocked Jail Road, Ferozpur Road and Canal Road, respectively, crippling traffic flow on several busy roads of the city.

Young doctors were carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands and chanted slogans against the government for “depriving doctors of their rights”.

Meanwhile, outpatient departments (OPDs) of many hospital remained shut and several minor operations were postponed which aggravated agony of the patients.

Besides, closure of roads created massive inconvenience for people, who remained stuck in traffic for hours. Several ambulances were also stuck in traffic, which endangered the lives of some serious patients.

“The cruel central induction policy is being imposed on the young doctors by the Punjab government to limit the aspirations of young doctors for PG training and we consider it usurping the rights of young doctors,” they added.

The Young Doctors Association leaders, however, claimed that young doctors didn’t hold a strike or disrupt the healthcare services at major hospitals, as a majority of doctors continued to provide healthcare services to the patients in emergencies, indoor and outdoor wards of their respective hospitals.

They claimed that doctors were performing duties at hospitals as usual, and no operations were postponed. However, it proved to be a hollow promise as patients were seen running from pillar to post get the required treatment.

This is not the YDA has staged protest rallies as number of demonstrations were earlier held by young doctors sometimes seeking a raise in salary package and sometimes to press the government against their unending demands.