YDA plans to shut down wards across Punjab

Say they will establish makeshift hospitals outside public health facilities

LAHORE: Disgruntled junior doctors are all se to shut down emergency wards of all public hospitals around Punjab as the deadlock between them and the government has intensified, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“Our strike has entered its 10th day, but no government official is interested in coming to the negotiating table,” said YDA Jinnah Hospital General Secretary Dr Asad Ali.



He said they have sacked at least 90 doctors, including house officers, medical officers and postgraduate trainees, including YDA Punjab President Dr Maroof Vance.“The YDA will never accept the Central Induction Policy. Please pass on the message. We will fight till the end,” he committed.

Replying to a question, Dr Asad stressed patients were dying at hospitals and the government was not interested in providing better health facilities to the poor people of Punjab, “Under the influence of IMF and World Bank, they are snatching already available health facilities from common folks,” he added.



The general secretary further stated that after closing emergency wards, OPDs, indoor and other departments, the YDA will consider establishing makeshift hospitals outside medical facilities. “This is to record our protest and take care of the patients.”

He further said allegations that people are dying due to the doctors’ strike were baseless as only Rs561 was being spent on each person’s health in Punjab.“There are no fully equipped ICUs, cardio or burns units in [rural] Punjab,” he claimed.

The sacked Punjab YDA president Dr Maroof Vance told The Express Tribune that the government has failed to induct new postgraduates after the young doctors’ strike. “There are hundreds of seats vacant around Punjab.”

“Actually, they are telling lies to people that new postgraduates have been appointed. The truth is that all the medical fraternity is united and will not accept the CIP at any cost,” he added. He said Punjab Secretary for Health Najam Ahmed Shah is an engineer by profession. “That is why he is taking irrelevant steps and ruining the already existing health facilities.”

A countrywide trade union movement, Red Workers Front (RWF), has also joined hands with YDA. Its coordinator Adeel Zaidi said that although the association of young medics is involved in different corruption scandals, patients are dying on hospital tables due to the government, not doctors.

He asked why the government was not accepting the demand of YDA. “Why are they not establishing burns units in Punjab and why they are going to privatize the public hospitals in Punjab?”



“Now the young doctors are joining hands with paramedical staff and nursing associations,” he highlighted.

“The government must immediately accept the demands of doctors if they are interested in making health facilities better,” he said.

A health department spokesman told The Express Tribune that Minister for Health Khwaja Salman Rafique and Secretary for Health Najam Ahmed Shah were busy negotiating with doctors since morning and trying their level best to convince the medics to call off the strike.

“We are trying our best for reconciliation. Even if talks fail, we will not allow them to disturb hospital functions. We will run our hospital,” he asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2017.