OPD services remain suspended on second day

Health workers say boycott would continue unless notification for allowance is issued

ISLAMABAD:

The out-patient department (OPD) services and vaccination administration in federal government hospitals remained suspended for the second consecutive day because of health workers’ protest. The emergency services in all hospitals, however, functioned as routine. The patients faced extreme difficulties owing to the situation.

The healthcare workers have boycotted the aforementioned services owing to non-provision of risk allowance.

Parliamentary Health Secretary Nausheen Hamid held talks with the protesters and assured them of disbursement of the allowance. However, the health workers said that they would continue their boycott unless a notification for release of the allowance is issued.

The health risk allowance announced by the government after the pandemic outbreak hasn’t been issued for over a year despite the assurance of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Parliamentary Secretary Health Dr Nausheen Hamid, and Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan. During the protest, the employees also demanded removal of the health secretary and joint secretary.

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The health ministry is willing to give allowance only to the staff that performed duties in the coronavirus dedicated wards. The health workers say that all medics and paramedics who remained on the frontline during the pandemic rage are entitled to the risk allowance.

The heads of the federal government hospitals have forwarded the lists of employees to the health ministry who deserve to receive the allowance.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the health secretary had instructed the hospitals’ heads verbally to make lists comprising the name of only 25 percent of staff.

However, the chief maintained that the entire staff served duties during the pandemic, and excluding any worker would create a rift among hospital staff. Therefore, they sent lists inclusive of names of all staff members of the respective healthcare facilities and put the ball in the ministry’s court.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2021.