Punjab

20 patients die as doctors continue strike

Patients complain of not receiving medical attention, Punjab govt hires 130 doctors across province.

Express April 02, 2011

Twenty patients lost their lives in Punjab during the last two days due to lack of medical attention as doctors continued their strike on Saturday, Express 24/7 reported.

A spokesperson of the Young Doctors Association announced that more than a hundred doctors of the Punjab Institute of cardiology had resigned.

A Punjab government spokesperson said that striking doctors should submit their resignations directly to the government and that their resignations would be accepted today (Saturday).

The Punjab government has recruited more than 130 doctors in government hospitals across the province, with 70 for Lahore only. It has also asked the protesting doctors to vacate hostels of various institutions.

Doctors of Jinnah Hospital in Karachi have announced a strike on April 5 and doctors in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa a strike on April 4, demanding that manhandling and arrests of doctors in Punjab be stopped.

Thousands of doctors across Punjab working at public hospitals have been on strike since the provincial government failed to meet their demands for better compensation. The strike is spearheaded by the Young Doctors Association (YDA) of Punjab, which claims to have 8,000 members participating in the strike. The doctors are demanding a minimum monthly salary of Rs90,000 and regular employment contracts.

Police have arrested the president of YDA, and a heavy contingent of police has been deployed outside the hospitals to avoid untoward situations.

Chief minister Shahbaz Sharif said the government had considered the doctors’ demands and offered a substantial salary raise, so there was no longer any justification for the strike.

Doctors have rejected the ultimatum given by the Punjab government to discontinue the strike or face departmental action and be replaced by retired and unemployed doctors. Punjab health secretary Fawad Hasan has ordered principals of medical colleges and teaching hospitals to sack doctors who do not resume their duties within 24 hours and make new appointments on all vacant seats.

Young doctors in Lahore have closed indoor, outdoor and emergency departments, refusing to work. Two senior doctors from Mayo hospital Lahore have joined protesting juniors, pressing for fulfillment of their colleagues’ demands.

Doctors and paramedics are also striking in Rahim Yar Khan.

Parliamentary leader Raja Riaz said the opposition will register a case against Punjab government over the deceased patients who had been denied medical care.

COMMENTS (20)

Light | 13 years ago | Reply To be honest....every doctor supporter here makes only one reasonable point...The point itself is not wrong...but considering the profession its bluntly wrong & the point you guys made is DOCS CAN NOT EARN LOT OF MONEY or IS NOT EARNING LOT OF MONEY LIKE OTHER PROFESSIONALS This gives us tow points to consider 1. You guys become doctor expecting to earn a lot of money which simply is against the profession of doctor 2. If you want to EARN money, please do not become doctor as this thinking is destroying Pakistan Medical Institutes and facilities. this is the reason that our government hospitals are in current condition With all due respect to this noble profession, In Pakistan doctors are equally responsible for the current condition of hospitals as government is. Had you guys not opened our OWN private clinics, the situation can be a lot better today.

Sid | 13 years ago | Reply @ Faraz and Mr. Orangiwala, Mr. Faraz you are a young doctor probably aspiring to go abroad, reality hasnt hit you yet my friend, as you mature you will look back at you comment and be amused/ embarassed ( take your pick). Mr. Orangiwala, I was fortunate enough to have the financial support to give all the international exams, Passed all and currently working in the US, I am a very good doctor, but guess who i am serving, NOT my people. I would have loved to stay back in Pakistan and use my efforts for my fellow Pakistani brethren, but when the electricity bill was more then my months salary, it was time for me to bolt. I understand that sitting around making comments without the slightest idea of the realities is easy. You have not stepped in the shoes of the people who work day in day out in miserable working condition with minimal support. As far as malpractice is concerned, i agree with you on that, there is no check and balance system, people do get away with murder, then again how can you prevent that when there is no infrastructure, please do NOT think that government hospitals are actual hospitals, they are merely refugee camps with some medical supplies thats all, nothing is upto international standards, i am sorry let me rephrase there are no standards. Look at Aga Khan university hospital, thats the only hospital in Sindh worth calling a hospital, no malpractice happens there, even if does, people are caught and action taken against them. I am absolutely with the doctor community on their effort, May Allah help them.

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Salman Orangiwala | 13 years ago | Reply Doctor Sid and Doctor Ovais MBA's , IT wallas and Others donot get subsidized study support like you . And what on earth made you so arrogantly obnoxious that you possess "best" genetically formed "intellignece" in Paksitan ? You are making a point of NOT migrating to the greener pasture . Aamreeca or Landan . You are welcome but isn;t it soo tough to even pass their PLAB and not to mention the extra rigorous internship you have to go through out there ? And yes , they even sue any doctor who just even made a slight wrong prognosis , like prescribing regular aspirin instead of enteric coated aspirin to an IBS patient . But in Paksitan you can get away so easily after praticing on poor and pauper patients and "murdering " 25 + people by negligence . Kia kehne ! .

Fatima | 13 years ago | Reply With due respect: doctors didn't feel the 'need' to go on strike on a whim. There have been on-going dialogue between the government and the young doctors on not only pay increase but several other very genuine issues which are inherent for both doctor and patient security and safety. Nothing has been done by the government for a year. When the doctors closed OPD in protest, no efforts for dialogue was initiated by the government. If the government is in fact so concerned about patient treatment and survival, why are they telling dispensers/paramedics to wear overalls and pose as doctors in Emergency Departments across the province? What is ironic is that for one month, the government was adamant that they had no funds to increase the pays of doctors at all. When doctors held demonstrations outside Punjab Assembly, many were issued show cause notices for termination. When indoor departments were closed for just one day in retaliation, the government took back the notices. The next time protests were raised in front of Punjab Assembly, many were arrested like the were terrorists. After due ultimatum given by doctors for 24 hours, the Emergencies were closed in protest and the government was pressured and not only released the doctors but miraculously discovered some funds and offered to increase the pays of only house officers and post graduate trainees. So, were they lying before or after? This isn't the first time that doctors have protested against mistreatment, nor is this the last. Every person in a free country has the right to FIGHT for their due right. All over the world, doctors have protested just like people from other walks of life. I quote from a New Zealand report which talked about whether it was 'ethical' for doctors to go on strike and it concluded: ‎- ' “what is right should result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.” If doctors (and others) truly believe it is important for patient care, then they must sometimes have the courage to do things that are unpopular and difficult. If the conditions that doctors work under put patients at risk, then (on balance) they are morally obliged to strike.'

ovais | 13 years ago | Reply media is against doctors i tried to explain doctors view twice on this page but its nt being shown

Aziz | 13 years ago | Reply Intresting fact is In Emergency departments in All Pakistan WE are not having DEFIBRILLATORS( Kindly tell me any govt hospital ER in pakistan where its available)HAH None i guess ( I didnt find any thing in MEDIA ABout that ) there are 100 of things there ... hay did u find any article about that ????

dradak | 13 years ago | Reply 17 years of day and night hard work during my education to become a doctor,and now me and my other colleagues are sitting away from my family and from my country just bcz i can not fulfil even the basic needs of my family with the salaray that we get in pakistan,i ask from our deceision makers and from the our nation that an MBA,pharmaceutical person,patwaari,IT professional,policeman,shopkeeper,and CSS officer is more intelligent than doctor?they did more hard work during there professional education than doctors?they have more tough working hours than doctors?they have worse working conditions than doctors?why shouldnt we strike if no body is realising the facts then wat options we have ? i wana tell to other doctors that one of the biggest enemy of doctors community due to whom we are suffering alot are senior doctors who do not want to convey are problems to highier authorities bcz they want us to suffer in the same manner as they used to suffer when they were young doctor

ovais | 13 years ago | Reply @paindo: ok arrest all the doctors like u ll treat the patients this way. putting 10000 doctors in jail ll destroy pakistan health system forever. and as far respect is concerned our nations has respect only for illetrate currupt politicians and gangsters. u can chose these politicians in next elections too so they snatch every single penny from u and make this country completely illetrate and extremely poor by arresting the whole educated class or forcing them to leave this country. hope then u ll be surely satisfied.

ovais | 13 years ago | Reply @MS: ok then black list all the doctors then what? u ll get doctors from sky to treat patients? use your head before passing such foolish comments.

faraz | 13 years ago | Reply @Sid I am a doctor and not from a second rate private medical college. Young doctors are trainees not experts, they get cheap education on tax payers money, most of them work at 2 or more hospitals and earn over 50,000, and most of them will leave the country after completing their training. So please, dont tell me about the issues faced by doctors. Thanks god, i completed my house job few months ago and didnt participate in the heartless murder of these innocent patients.

Cautious | 13 years ago | Reply You guys need a Ronald Reagan - when the air traffic controllers went on strike crippling the nation he threatened to fire them - they didn't go back to work - he fired every last one of them - no more strikes in critical industries. No one is indispensable.

Sid | 13 years ago | Reply Reading the first three comments from faraz, maimoona and MS was ammusing. For sure none of them have any clue about the profession of medicine in Pakistan. Let me enlighten you a little bit. Getting into a reputable medical college is one of the toughest academic achievements. MBBS is not just another MBA from a mushroom university. Secondly passing out of a med school takes 5 long years + another year of internship. After doing all of that when the government hospital pays you less then a salary of a peon, the situation becomess very demoralizing not to mention the inhuman working hours. A MBA or a IT guy with a mediocre brain in his head is earning 10 times more. As far as the 20 deaths is concerned, they would have happened even if all the doctors in the world were sitting by the bedside of those patients, its not the doctors, it is infrastructure of our health care system, we do not have even the basic medical equipments in our hospital. Doctors dont have magic wands or spells to make people better but thats besides the point. Nobody ever speaks out when our Jahil government officials get paid upto a million a month, people who dont pay taxes and who rule us like we are even less then animals. So the question is why are you so against the strike by doctors? In all honesty dont they deserve it?. I am so happy that finally someone had the courage to stand up for once. Alas all signs point towards the smothering of the uprising by arrests and threats of being killed. Pakistan Zindabad!!

Disco Molvi | 13 years ago | Reply I thought 'Zindagi aur Maut ALLAH k hath mein hai" and not in the hands of doctors!?

Fareedi | 13 years ago | Reply Please don't use foul language and sectarian remarks. Can't we think of ourselves as Pakistanis and not Sindhi and Punjabi. Do please come up with an alternate way for Doctors to ask for a pay rise. They are part of the same community too. Loss of life is unforgivable. Part of responsibility lies with the Govt. as well.

paindo | 13 years ago | Reply FIR's should be lodged against these doctors. they demand respect from society but has nothing to do with humanity. If there are decent chaps in their community, they should come forward.

Aziz | 13 years ago | Reply I think Media Should stop working for PUNJAB government ... Go and look at the work load of a Doctors and check how much SABZI wala at ur street is earning ... Sabzi wala is earning more then what a qualified doctor is earning ... Who have spend his precious 17 years in educations ... Ok Let Medical Officer salary be equal to CAMERA men .. and let specialist salary be equal to Achor ...

Malik | 13 years ago | Reply If only Punjab Movement MNAs stop stealing our money and start giving taxes we could pay our people some decent wages. No money will be available for doctors, teachers, nurses and other public workers but a lot of money somehow mysteriously becomes available for squandering by the elite. Even the media group that is bad mouthing the doctors and blaming them for the chaos has a court case pending for over a billion rupees of tax evasion. Everyone should support doctor’s movement, it is our movement. Any money that doctors will get will be spent locally and not in buying properties in Dubai, London, Paris and Jeddah. Wake up and see who the problem is. It’s the elite. If they did not steal our money then we will have more to go around. Do not blame doctors, teachers, nurses who only demand what is owed to them.

MS | 13 years ago | Reply Well guys I have been in a hospital for last 15 days and the number of death would have been 57 had these doctors been working!! They are ruthless killers and now want to be paid for it too. No difference between these doctors and the terrorist doing target killing in Karachi. These doctors should be black listed for life!

maimoona | 13 years ago | Reply its being ridiculous how can they bear 2 week strike over such a imp matter which directly concern to dwellers life and death hats off to Punjab govt

faraz | 13 years ago | Reply Doctors mafia on a killing spree. They should be ashamed of killing poor people who come to public hospitals, who have nothing to do with thier pay

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