While patients lose their lives owing to strikes, the penalty these doctors face from government should be suspension
LAHORE: Lahore is the second-largest city of Pakistan after Karachi. The city has many government-run hospitals like Mayo hospital, Sir Ganga Ram hospital and Services Hospital which were established during the British rule. These hospitals have been known for decades for provision of satisfactory medical facilities at a nominal cost.
Over the past few years, young doctors have been dominating the medical field in Punjab. Their significance and power can be gauged by ongoing strike of the Young Doctors Associations (YDA). Their power seems to be even greater than that of the provincial government and the Punjab Medical Council. However, such a power has imperiled many lives. Several deaths have been reported in the province of Punjab as a result of the YDA’s strike.
While patients lose their lives owing to such strikes, the minimum penalty these doctors face from the government is suspension. However, they must be held accountable for not performing their duties and puting the lives of patients in danger. They should be legally tried.
However, the persistence of such a situation is also due to the failure of the authorities concerned in dealing with matters relating to the demands of YDA. The issue should be resolved at the earliest considering the fact that precious human lives are involved.
Rabya Yousuf
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2017.
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