Patients have been suffering badly because of the prolonged strike by young doctors in outpatient departments of public sector hospitals across the province, which entered 11th day on Friday. However the provincial government has paid no heed to the demands of young doctors.
Talking to ‘The News’ here on Friday, Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab Chairman Dr. Muhammad Haroon said: “We will continue our strike in OPDs till fulfilment of our demands. However we are planning to go to the public and involve community groups, including associations and organisations of businessmen, lawyers and other professionals, to convince the government to act in accordance with the promises it has made with young doctors.”
He added that the concerned government officials and central leadership of the ruling PML-N in the province, including Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, have assured the YDA that the demands of young doctors would be given due consideration but the cold response from them belied their claims.
On the call of the Young Doctors Association Punjab, young doctors withdrew their services from OPDs of the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and the District Headquarters Hospital along with other public sector hospitals in the province on March 1, however, Intensive Care Units, Coronary Care Units and Emergency Departments of hospitals have been operational as per routine. The young doctors have also been running free medical camps outside the hospitals to facilitate poor patients.
The young doctors have been demanding 100 per cent pay raise, pay protection and increase in health budget. “The YDA office-bearers met with Punjab CM during January this year and he assured the YDA that young doctors would be given increase in salaries yet the government has done nothing so far to solidify its claim,” said Dr Haroon.
He added that on Tuesday, the YDA representatives put their final demands before a special committee formed on the directives of Punjab CM yet the government has given no response as yet. The special committee was comprised principals of different medical colleges of the province.
Principal Rawalpindi Medical College Professor Muhammad Afzal Farooqi who was member of the special committee expressed to ‘The News’ that the demands of the young doctors are legitimate in principle yet the government does not afford such a huge budget required to increase their salaries by 100 per cent. “The government needs around Rs17 billion for the demanded increase while the present health budget of the province does not exceed Rs50 billion,” he said.
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