Patients suffer as doctors continue OPD boycott

Young Doctors Association holds protest, blocks Murree Road

RAWALPINDI: Patients at three government-run hospitals continued to suffer as strike of young doctors against Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act entered ninth consecutive day on Sunday.

Outpatient Departments (OPDs) at District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Holy Family Hospital (HFH) and Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) remained closed.

However, the doctors remained on duty in dengue wards and emergency departments. Due to closure of OPDs, patients thronged emergency departments of the hospitals and mostly had to turn to expensive private clinics.

Meanwhile, Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) organised a protest walk in favour of their demands at BBH. Leading the march, Dr Rana Azeem, Dr Shehriyar and others chanted slogans against the MTI Act. The protesters eventually blocked Murree Road owing to which the traffic remained suspended for some time.

Speakers said that the province-wide boycott would continue until their demands were met and threatened to expand their protest to dengue, emergency and other wards. They added that doctors had completely rejected MTI Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2019.