K-P govt prepares list of 50 doctors as strike continues

Doctors will soon be able to table their choices before the provincial government

PESHAWAR: Patients admitted to major hospitals in the provincial capital continued to suffer for a 24th day on Friday as a deadlock between protesting doctors — members of a Grand Health Alliance— and the provincial government persisted.

To solve the issue, the provincial health department has prepared a list of 50 doctors whom it considers to be the masterminds behind the ongoing protests.

The doctors have been protesting against the regional and district health authorities. To pressurize the government, the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) has started visiting the regional and local hospital to garner greater support for their cause.

The doctors have also decided to stop providing in-door services at all hospitals in the province and to march towards Islamabad for the acceptance of their demands.

Sources in the alliance have told The Express Tribune that soon, they will table their choices before the provincial government.

Meanwhile, the provincial health department has sought permission from the Provincial Public Service Commission to appoint some 450 doctors on Basic Pay-Scale (BPS) Grade 17 to fill slots of those doctors who either wish to quit or whom the government wants to sack for their role in the protests. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2019.