Despite being bitten by the culture of denialism, the boundless compassion, patience, and optimism have become lifelong companions of the employees of the Punjab Emergency Service. The most compelling show I have seen in years. I felt so anxious when my mother collapsed last month, and I did not know how I could offer any help to her from a thousand miles away. Those fears soon disappeared after 1122 staff lifted the phone and responded to the situation like genuine heroes. Of course, I owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their courage, commitment, and professionalism. When I was not there: they were there to help my mother during the toughest time.
We see the glimpses of phenomenal selflessness shine through tear-shed moments and what we see on the newsflash is only a drop in the sea of what is being delivered by the heroes of Rescue 1122. Today, Rescue 1122 has become the nation’s most trustworthy trademark.
Rationally, emergency workers are the everyday heroes who run towards danger when we need them the most in challenging times. They work industriously saving lives in gravest casualties, digging in the rubble, looking for injured and constantly being hurried to get to the next job.
Although the Punjab Emergency Service is overstretched yet its staff is working vigorously to keep us safe, protected, and healthy. They not only help victims but also secure the area to prevent further casualties often facing dangerous tasks that involve the risk of possibly fatal injury. As a result of the potentially traumatic effects of such experiences, rescue workers are under a great deal of stress and at risk of other health problems.
Our dreams to revive, modernise and upscale the careers of our emergency workers are moving further out of reach every year.
In several vital areas such as the longest shift worked, unpaid extra hours, staff considering leaving, and feeling undervalued, are the stern challenges, that continue to drag on. We can already see that there is a powerful public narrative about the Emergency Service Rescue 1122 that is often overlooked.
Amidst the sense of powerlessness, the rescue workers continue to wrestle for their rights and the disparity in their pay rewards. When it comes to regularisation of the service structure, increasing the fixed daily allowance as per the analogy of police and generous pension scheme and introducing the flexible working pattern government, specialises, in denialism.
This is a reckless policy choice the government has failed to inform the public why 1122 workers are being treated differently from other departments. The culture of denialism is breaking the rescue workforce and breaking our hearts!
The former Chief Minister of Punjab, Usman Buzdar, chaired the first meeting of the Punjab Emergency Council in October 2020, after years that were mandatory to address the emergency service issues like long-due service structure, regularisation of contractual employees, and allowances.
Despite his promises, no efforts have been made to authorize the service structure and restore allowances. Again, the new government has replaced the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government employees of the rescue service are left in limbo awaiting steps to strengthen the service as an institution rather than a tug of political circus between changing regimes.
Thousands of 1122 employees are plunged under the spell of serial liars who remain convinced to date. It is easy to understand why?
Such lies cast a shadow on the responsibility of the governments who have willfully turned blind eyes toward the protection of the rights of emergency workers. This all raises to me a profound series of questions: how can a lie like this become simply stronger than truth? Are we forgetting; to be a society?
So why have the governments failed and failed again to regularise the service structure, increase the fixed daily allowance, and offer a risk allowance to those who risk their lives every day to protect us? The answer to such questions lies not in the efficacy of the system but the will of the governments. No surprise, the face of futile political discourse has become fierce, and the damning testimony of bureaucratic incompetence.
Nevertheless, this flagrant negligence has aggravated serious mental health challenges, which could strike suddenly and often cause substantial personal and societal damage and yet we see that mental health and well-being are the least priority of the government. Moreover, the prospect of a poor reward system and unpaid working hours compounds stress and anxiety.
In reality, such failures must pinch the governments to wake up to avoid dire consequences before our rescue worker runs out of patience.
During a pandemic, the Punjab Emergency Service has faced a record demand of patients while ensuring international emergency safety standards, vehicle tracking and call management information systems to deliver person-centred care with compassion, respect, and dignity.
Unfortunately, our dreams to revive, modernise and upscale the careers of our emergency workers are moving further out of reach every year. It feels shameful to me that an overwhelming majority of rescuers are putting lives at risk while waiting for the fulfilment of promises made to them by successive governments.
In this museum of national shame, the public gesture of trust for emergency workers is a compelling testimony to appeal to Chief Minister Punjab, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, to formulate the service rules and break the spell of lies. Equally important is also to revise existing reward systems and introduce flexible working patterns, as well as career breaks to improve the quality of the life of workers.
I stand with this wonderful community in the fight for justice. Do you? A community that is still suffering, still undervalued but still fighting.
Acquainted with the harsh realities of inequality and injustice, the Punjab government has a responsibility to find an effective intervention before our negligent conduct and incompetence wheel off Punjab Emergency Service into intensive care by placing the morale of rescue workers on a ventilator.
The writer is based in UK, and has specialization in health informatics from Johns Hopkins University.