Patients suffer as PIMS protest continues

The protest of the Young Doctor's Association at PIMS continued into its 29th day on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD: The protest of the Young Doctor's Association (YDA) at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad continued into its 29th day on Wednesday. The movement is gaining momentum as both the medical officer and senior registrar of the hospital have also joined the protest.

Doctors closed the hospital’s outpatient department (OPD) and Operation Theater, a decision that will adversely affect patients who continue to suffer because of the protest. Those who come from far-flung areas and cannot afford the luxury of private hospital have frequently been left stranded at the biggest referral hospital of the country since the onset of the strike a few months ago.

The federal public service commission has yet to accept the protesters’ demands to amend the new service structure approved by the Ministry of Health on May 1^st. PIMS employees stated that under this proposed service structure they would “lose their civil servant rights” as they were being given an irrevocable choice between Basic Pay Scale (BPS) and Personal Pay Scales (HPS). Opting for BPS, would exclude the benefits of auto-promotion structure and health allowances.

The doctors of the YDA claim that they will continue their protest until their demands are met.