PM approves summary to separate PIMS from varsity

Hospital staffers threaten to expand strike unless ordinance is issued within six days

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 10 days after medical and non-medical staff at one of the main tertiary care hospitals in the capital went on strike, the government finally buckled to the demands of the protesters with the premier approving a bill to amend the law separating Pims from the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University.

But the move failed to sway the protesters who gave the government six days to enact an ordinance before granting it legal cover through the parliament. They warned that failure to do so they would see the strike expand to other hospitals.

Staffers at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) had boycotted the outpatient departments and operation theatres at the hospital from October 2, forcing hundreds of patients who come for far of areas, to seek treatment elsewhere.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approved a summary for a bill which would amend the law segregating Pims from the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) for the parliament to further process by the federal cabinet.

A letter issued by the PM House read that ‘the PM in his capacity as Minister Incharge of the proposed draft bill to amend the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Act 2013, on priority agenda of the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases.”

The move came after Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry met with premier Abbasi on Wednesday evening to discuss the ongoing strike.

Dr Chaudhry had said that once the bill is approved by the cabinet, it would be presented in the parliament for due process.

Meanwhile, CADD officials said that a Supreme Court order, which defined ‘federal government’ as ‘cabinet’, had stipulated that the cabinet must approve bills before they are presented to the parliament.

Issue ordinance, or else…

However, the hospital’s employees explained that since the parliament is not in session and the government had failed to introduce the bill in the previous session, an ordinance was the only way to segregate the hospital from the university.

Protesting outside the National Press Club, the hospital employees unanimously demanded that the government issue the ordinance by October 18 or else employees at other hospitals in the capital too may join the strike.

“Employees of other government hospitals support our stance and they have agreed to expand the agitation,” warned Pims Restoration Movement’s Dr Asfandyar Khan.

The protesting staff argue that owing to the hospitals’ merger with the varsity, not only have the perks and privileges of regular government servants have been withdrawn from the employees but the difficulties faced by patients at the hospital have also been increasing since the merger had put a hold to hiring additional staff for the hospital.

Medicines are not available patients have even been asked to arrange for syringes on their own, said the movement’s chairman Sharif Khattak.

Fees for various tests are also being increased, Khattak said, noting that fee for an Electro Cardiogram, which used to cost just Rs50, has been doubled to Rs100. Angiography fee has been nearly tripled from Rs6,000 to Rs16,000, while angioplasty fee has increased from Rs15,000 to Rs40,000.

Umar visits protesters

Over 10 days after staffers started their protest, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Asad Umar finally talked to the protesters.

Umar, who was elected from NA-48 and the hospital falls within his constituency, had been heavily criticised in the upper house of Parliament on Wednesday for failing to raise his voice on the issue.

Even though the PTI maintained its parliamentary silence on the matter, Umar on Thursday criticised the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for lingering on the issue which has been pending in the parliament for the past three years.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2017.