ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday stopped the implementation of the order of sending back of doctors to their home provinces deputed on deputation at the PIMS hospital and the Zulifqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) University and issued a stay order on the notification of their transfers till the next hearing. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqi of the IHC conducted the hearing of the transfer case. Nasim Ahmed Shah, the counsel of the petitioners appeared before the court and informed that the notification issued by the CA&DD regarding the transfer of doctors was illegal adding that the PIMS administration had recommended the transfer of as many as 25 doctors to their home provinces on the basis of personal choice. The court has issued a notice to the Secretary CA&DD, the administrator and the Vice Chancellor, ZAB University and adjourned the hearing till October 31. The bench has sought a reply from the Ministry of the CADD, the PIMS Administration and Vice Chancellor Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto University, and adjourned the hearing of the case till October 31. agencies Meanwhile, the citizens on Thursday demanded of the authorities concerned to improve healthcare services at the emergency department of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to treat the maximum number of patients. According to them, a large number of patients from far-flung areas visit the PIMS emergency unit daily and faced many problems because of lack of facilities and adequate services. When contacted, the Vice Chancellor Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, PIMS Dr Javed Akram, said that a sufficient number of doctors perform duties in the hospital’s emergency unit. They said that only limited beds were available at the wards situated in the emergency department, where not only was the staff limited but there was also an acute shortage of medicines. They asked to take notice of the frequent absence of senior doctors and non-observance of the duty-roster by the medical and non-medical staff at the emergency unit. They said there should be a monitoring mechanism to check whether the duty staff observed their duties or not. The people said a system of rewards and punishments should be started by the hospital management under which the responsible staff should be encouraged while those who do not take their duties seriously should be taken to task. Amir Shah, a patient, alleged that senior doctors mostly remained absent from their duties while only postgraduate (PG) doctors, who were studying there, ran the affairs of the most sensitive unit of the hospital. He added that due to the limited knowledge and experience, the PGs could not satisfy the patients suffering from serious and complicated medical complications. They even could not properly treat patients with minor medical issues and mostly referred the serious patients to other hospitals. Taimoor Khan, another patient, said due to the non-professional attitude of the staff at the emergency unit, the patients faced several hardships, particularly those who were brought in a critical condition. Sometimes patients at the emergency department, he said, needed an immediate response from expert doctors but only general physicians were found there and the specialist doctors could not reach the ward in time.