Khattak agrees to compensate families of deceased doctors
YDA ready to withdraw strike call if arrested doctors are released and cases against them withdrawn
The ANP leader added CM Pervez Khattak and his ministers are busy preparing for the sit-in. PHOTO: ONLINE
PESHAWAR:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has consented to offering compensation to families of the doctors who lost their lives in different incidents on hospital premises.
Khattak’s consent came on Wednesday after he met a delegation comprising members of the Insaf Doctors Association (IDA), the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) and others.
The delegation discussed with the CM the issue that led to the confrontation between the Young Doctors Associations (YDA) and the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) administration.
Some 35 doctors had been arrested on Tuesday when YDA members allegedly locked the HMC’s out-patient department and pressurised the staff members and doctors not to perform their duties. The doctors were later baton-charged resulting in injuries to many.
YDA wants guarantor for talks with health ministry
As the HMC administration took action against the protesting doctors, the YDA members announced a boycott of their duties at the facility. However, soon after doctors started protesting at the facility on Wednesday, the HCM administration again took action and arrested three YDA members.
Talking with reference to the meeting, IDA Central President Dr Jawad said the CM had agreed to compensate families of the deceased doctors and set up an endowment fund for trainee medical officers [TMOs] and house officers. “A summary in this regard will be signed today [Thursday],” he said.
He said a summary stipend for the TMOs would also be approved by the chief minister today [Thursday] and the stipend since January 2017 would be released very soon. Amendments to the Medical Officer Act would be also passed from the K-P Assembly, he added.
Meanwhile, the YDA has expressed willingness to withdraw the strike call if the government released the arrested YDA members and agreed to hold dialogue with the protesting doctors.
YDA strike: Health ministry orders action against protesting medics
“We will not go for a strike or boycott duties if the government releases our men and agrees to hold talks with us,” YDA patron-in-chief Dr Alamgir Yousafzai told The Express Tribune.
He said the HMC tortured YDA members who were still in the lockup, adding that the YDA president for the HMC, Ghaffar Shah, was seriously wounded and admitted to the facility.
“We were protesting peacefully when the ‘brutal’ HMC administration ordered baton-charge against us,” said Yousafzai. “We will continue the protest until our issues are addressed.”
However, HMC Hospital Director Dr Shahzad Akbar said patient care would not be compromised.
“The administration was compelled to order police action as the YDA was disrupting service delivery,” Akbar told the media, adding that the YDA had locked the outpatient department and those performing duties were facing problems.
“A few doctors cannot paralyse the system and we will continue serving the patients,” Akbar said. He also showed to the media the CCTV footage in which doctors were damaging the locks at night so that they could not be unlocked in the morning.
On the other hand, a grand jirga comprising members of the PDA, IDA, MALGARI [Friends] doctors, Watan Paal Doctor Forum and others was held at the HMC. The Jirga demanded release of the detained doctors and withdrawal of the cases against them.
They said the K-P chief minister had accepted their demands in principle and invited them for a meeting, but the YDA was not ready to accept the representation of the PDA and others in the meeting. The jirga regretted that the YDA was not agreeing to a peaceful resolution of the issue.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has consented to offering compensation to families of the doctors who lost their lives in different incidents on hospital premises.
Khattak’s consent came on Wednesday after he met a delegation comprising members of the Insaf Doctors Association (IDA), the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) and others.
The delegation discussed with the CM the issue that led to the confrontation between the Young Doctors Associations (YDA) and the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) administration.
Some 35 doctors had been arrested on Tuesday when YDA members allegedly locked the HMC’s out-patient department and pressurised the staff members and doctors not to perform their duties. The doctors were later baton-charged resulting in injuries to many.
YDA wants guarantor for talks with health ministry
As the HMC administration took action against the protesting doctors, the YDA members announced a boycott of their duties at the facility. However, soon after doctors started protesting at the facility on Wednesday, the HCM administration again took action and arrested three YDA members.
Talking with reference to the meeting, IDA Central President Dr Jawad said the CM had agreed to compensate families of the deceased doctors and set up an endowment fund for trainee medical officers [TMOs] and house officers. “A summary in this regard will be signed today [Thursday],” he said.
He said a summary stipend for the TMOs would also be approved by the chief minister today [Thursday] and the stipend since January 2017 would be released very soon. Amendments to the Medical Officer Act would be also passed from the K-P Assembly, he added.
Meanwhile, the YDA has expressed willingness to withdraw the strike call if the government released the arrested YDA members and agreed to hold dialogue with the protesting doctors.
YDA strike: Health ministry orders action against protesting medics
“We will not go for a strike or boycott duties if the government releases our men and agrees to hold talks with us,” YDA patron-in-chief Dr Alamgir Yousafzai told The Express Tribune.
He said the HMC tortured YDA members who were still in the lockup, adding that the YDA president for the HMC, Ghaffar Shah, was seriously wounded and admitted to the facility.
“We were protesting peacefully when the ‘brutal’ HMC administration ordered baton-charge against us,” said Yousafzai. “We will continue the protest until our issues are addressed.”
However, HMC Hospital Director Dr Shahzad Akbar said patient care would not be compromised.
“The administration was compelled to order police action as the YDA was disrupting service delivery,” Akbar told the media, adding that the YDA had locked the outpatient department and those performing duties were facing problems.
“A few doctors cannot paralyse the system and we will continue serving the patients,” Akbar said. He also showed to the media the CCTV footage in which doctors were damaging the locks at night so that they could not be unlocked in the morning.
On the other hand, a grand jirga comprising members of the PDA, IDA, MALGARI [Friends] doctors, Watan Paal Doctor Forum and others was held at the HMC. The Jirga demanded release of the detained doctors and withdrawal of the cases against them.
They said the K-P chief minister had accepted their demands in principle and invited them for a meeting, but the YDA was not ready to accept the representation of the PDA and others in the meeting. The jirga regretted that the YDA was not agreeing to a peaceful resolution of the issue.