Protesting direct induction: YDA threatens to boycott OPDs from Saturday
Stages rally outside BBH, blocks Murree Road for an hour
Protesters say closure will render hundreds of people jobless.PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/FILE
RAWALPINDI:
The Murree Road in Rawalpindi was blocked for around an hour on Wednesday morning as young doctors on Wednesday took out a rally to protest against the direct induction policy of the Punjab government.
They warned the government of boycotting outpatient departments from Saturday unless their demands were met.
Under the umbrella of Young Doctors Association (YDA), doctors first gathered inside outside the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) library on Wednesday morning to discuss their plan of action and to fine tune their demands. Later, at around 11am, they moved outside and in a form of a rally marched out onto Murree Road where they staged a protest.
Traffic on the thoroughfare was blocked for around an hour causing a gridlock.
The doctors warned the government that, as per their earlier unanimous decision, if the direct induction policy was not withdrawn, they would start boycotting outpatient departments (OPD) in public hospitals from Saturday December 10.
Talking to The Express Tribune, YDA’s Dr Haider Akhtar said that the government is set to commence the process of hiring doctors under direct induction policy from December 13. He explained that the doctors’ association was against the policy to induct doctors in specialised fields of their choice.
Dr Akhtar added that they were also protesting against the government for not regularising doctors who had been hired on ad-hoc basis. He noted that the doctors had also been asking the government to provide comprehensive healthcare facilities to patients and to finish all incomplete health projects.
He further added that top health officials and government functionaries should abstain from taking any action against doctors or victimise them for carrying
out protests.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2016.
The Murree Road in Rawalpindi was blocked for around an hour on Wednesday morning as young doctors on Wednesday took out a rally to protest against the direct induction policy of the Punjab government.
They warned the government of boycotting outpatient departments from Saturday unless their demands were met.
Under the umbrella of Young Doctors Association (YDA), doctors first gathered inside outside the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) library on Wednesday morning to discuss their plan of action and to fine tune their demands. Later, at around 11am, they moved outside and in a form of a rally marched out onto Murree Road where they staged a protest.
Traffic on the thoroughfare was blocked for around an hour causing a gridlock.
The doctors warned the government that, as per their earlier unanimous decision, if the direct induction policy was not withdrawn, they would start boycotting outpatient departments (OPD) in public hospitals from Saturday December 10.
Talking to The Express Tribune, YDA’s Dr Haider Akhtar said that the government is set to commence the process of hiring doctors under direct induction policy from December 13. He explained that the doctors’ association was against the policy to induct doctors in specialised fields of their choice.
Dr Akhtar added that they were also protesting against the government for not regularising doctors who had been hired on ad-hoc basis. He noted that the doctors had also been asking the government to provide comprehensive healthcare facilities to patients and to finish all incomplete health projects.
He further added that top health officials and government functionaries should abstain from taking any action against doctors or victimise them for carrying
out protests.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2016.