Young doctors to go on complete strike from today

With the Ministry of Health not budging an inch, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) of Islamabad Friday decided to embark on a complete strike with effect from today (Saturday), till such time that their demands are met.

The doctors continued their token strike for the fifth consecutive day on Friday. They skipped the Outpatient Departments (OPDs) of all components of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), including the OPD of the main hospital, Children’s Hospital, Maternal and Child Health Centre, and the Burn Centre from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., assembled in front of the Administration Block and the Executive Director’s Office to raise slogans, and as if that was inadequate, blocked the main road in front of PIMS for several hours. Emergency services, critical areas and operation theatres services, however, remained uninterrupted as usual.

“The indifference of the Ministry of Health has forced us to convert our token strike into a full-fledged one. All OPDs will remain closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Saturday. Emergency cases, however, will be attended to as usual,” the president of YDA Dr. Sajid Abbasi told this correspondent. The YDA was joined in its strike by postgraduate doctors, medical officers and faculty members. Doctors of other government hospitals in the capital also expressed solidarity with the YDA in their own way.

Addressing the protesters, Dr. Sajid Abbasi, as well as the executive committee members of YDA Dr. Asfandyar, Dr. Awais and Dr. Bashir emphasised that they would not retreat with respect to their demands. The doctors’ demands include increase in salaries of professors (Rs300,000), assistant professors (Rs200,000), senior registrars (Rs120,000), medical officers (Rs80,000), House Officers (Rs35,000) and postgraduate residents (Rs70,000), as well as revision of service structure and regularization of doctors currently working on contract basis.

Dr. Sajid informed that a proposed service structure has already been drafted by a committee. “It should be different from the BPS structure. We want doctors to be inducted in grade 18, rather than in BPS 17 as per current practice. We also want a proper promotion schedule to be devised; currently, there is none. Doctors working on contract at PIMS and FGHS should be regularised,” he stated.

The protesting doctors regretted that the Ministry of Health has not responded to their demands so far. “It has been almost 10 days since we submitted our demands to Secretary Health through ED PIMS,” they informed.

Talking specifically in the context of PIMS, the young doctors articulated the need for a permanent solution to the issue of massive influx of patients at the hospital. “The government should either expand the existing facility, create new ones to obtain a decline in patient load, or devise a well thought out strategy to handle the problem once and for all,” one of the doctors urged