Health dept cancels Eid holidays of medical staff in Lahore

Special monitoring teams will be formed to check attendance of doctors

LAHORE: The Punjab Health Department has cancelled the Eid holidays of medical officials, nursing departments and paramedical staff. It ordered them to remain present at hospitals to provide medical facilities to the masses.

The department also ordered all district and tehsil headquarter hospital administrations to set up special monitoring teams to check the attendance of doctors. It also directed them to take action, under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act, against doctors absent from duty.



Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Department told employees that their Eid holidays stood cancelled and they would perform duties. Hospitals witnessed an influx of patients, particularly at emergency wards, in the past few years due to the overconsumption of meat during Eid days. Patients admitted to different wards also suffered due to the absence of doctors and staff during holidays.

However, this year, holidays of medical staff were cancelled and the secretary health as well as other senior officials would monitor the attendance of doctors, nursing and paramedical staff.

The health department issued directions to all districts in this regard. Special instructions were issued to hospitals in big cities including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Chakwal, Narowal and others.

A health department official said the staff planned to spend Eid days with the hospital administration. Blood bank, emergency and dengue wards would keep working during Eid days. Besides this, special arrangements would be made to counter Congo virus. After Eid prayers, doctors and medical staff would be required to reach hospitals.



Senior professors were directed not to switch off their phones and remain in contact with their respective hospitals. At the same time, special arrangements would be made to accommodate extra patients at all district and tehsil headquarter hospitals.

Lahore’s three big hospitals, Mayo, Jinnah and General, would be checked by the secretary health and monitoring teams as there was an extra load at these facilities every year.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2018.