Daily Times

LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) once again staged protest rallies against the central postgraduate induction policy in the provincial capital on Wednesday.

The YDA members also announced closure of all wards of teaching hospitals on Friday to pressurise the government and health department. They warned the government that if their demands were not met on time, they would completely close their medical services in all indoor wards as well as operation theaters.

The young doctors gathered outside the Punjab Assembly and blocked The Mall, which badly interrupted the traffic flow, adding severe problems for the commuters.

It is pertinent to mention the YDA held the protest regardless of the fact that the government had imposed section-144 to discourage protest demonstrations at The Mall.

Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmad Shah said that the YDA protest was baseless and illogical, as the government had already met their demands. He said patients at DHQs and THQs also need medical services but the doctors hesitate to serve in remote areas. He said, “We will ensure availability of medical facilities at underdeveloped areas.”

Shah that the YDA office-bearers and senior doctors accepted the government policy after negotiations, adding that YDA also promised that they would not hold any protest rally against the central induction policy, as they were assured that their demands would be reviewed again in 2017.

The YDA was of the view that doctors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were getting more salaries than Punjab. They announced that a series of protests would continue until the Punjab government withdraws the central
induction policy.

The young doctors, during the protest, were carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands and chanted slogans against the government for depriving doctors of their rights in the province. The protesters said that if the government would not complete their demands, they would enhance the protest against government on routine basis.

The young doctors’ strike caused a great deal of problems for the patients in hospitals, as work in OPDs was partially shut and several minor operations were postponed.

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

The YDA leaders, however, claimed that young doctors did not hold a strike or disrupt the healthcare services in hospitals, as majority of doctors continued to provide healthcare services to the patients in emergency, indoor and outdoor wards of their respective hospitals. They claimed that doctors were performing their duties in different hospitals as per usual, and no operations were postponed. However, it proved to be a hollow promise as patients were seen running from pillar to post to get the required treatment.

Strike call by a faction of young doctors against the transparent and merit-based online induction policy for postgraduate doctors under the Punjab Residency Programme in the teaching and specialised healthcare hospitals has failed, as the majority of doctors did not pay any heed to their call and continue providing medical treatment to the patients in the outpatient department of the hospitals, said a spokesman of the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department spokesman said that on average the turnout of patients in OPDs of teaching hospitals was almost the same as on July 21, adding that no extraordinary impact of YDA strike call was observed in hospitals.

He said that the turnout of the patients in the hospitals reflects that the majority of doctors believe in a system based on transparency and merit and they are in support of online PG induction policy, which should be free of any interference, pressure or nepotism so that eligible and deserving candidates could get chance to come forward purely on merit base.