I believe the doctors' strikes are unethical.
RAWALPINDI: With reference to the Young Doctors Association’s (YDA) strike in Punjab, I believe these strikes are unethical. Emergency rooms (ER) should be open for the critically ill and the use of violence must be avoided at all costs. At the same time, it wouldn’t hurt those who are quick at criticising every move made by the doctors to do some research on the YDA demands. These include: 1) Eight per cent of the budget should be allocated to healthcare 2) Hospitals that are not functional should be made so; new hospitals must be opened and doctors must be appointed on merit 3) Doctors should be appointed directly into grade 18 because the years they spend on education is more than the number of years spent by those working in other departments 4) Ninty-nine per cent of doctors do not have any government residences provided to them; this situation should be reserved 5) Salaries should be raised for doctors that do not own private practices.
These and some other basic demands have been put up by the doctors, which the various TV channels have not bothered to portray to the public. If good, intelligent doctors flee this country, innocent lives may also be lost due to negligent, incapable doctors treating them. To care for the people is the responsibility of a democratic state and doctors, like all other civil servants, are a part of the people of this state.
Saariya Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2012.
