Doctors continue OPD boycott over ‘unsafe’ hospitals

YDA strike in three Pindi hospitals over Lahore violence

RAWALPINDI:

Healthcare staff continued on Monday the boycott of the out-patient departments in three Rawalpindi hospitals for the fourth day over violence against doctors in Lahore last week.

The Young Doctors Association (YDA) made the boycott call which has resulted in a strike at OPDs at the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, the Holy Family Hospital and District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital.

Healthcare providers also held a protest at the DHQ Hospital. They said the protest would continue until they were provided adequate security and those responsible for the attack on the doctor in Lahore were arrested.

The situation is problematic for patients seeking treatment, sometimes coming from far off areas.

The president of the YDA at the DHQ Hospital, Dr Mohsin said that they were seeking policy-level changes across the province.

He added that the OPD patients were provided treatment despite the boycott as they were sent to the emergency department.

Dr Mohsin added that healthcare providers often worked in a state of terror due to a lack of security in case of upset attendants of a patient. The protest was over the torture of one Dr Saad Rafique at the Children’s Hospital in Lahore by the family of a dead child. The video of the incident was shared widely on social media.

Dr Mohsin added that such instances were pretty frequent, with the ministries and departments promising an overhaul of the system each time but fail to take action. “Without adequate security, it’s very difficult for us to work,” he added.

The management of the three administrations has also failed to take concrete measures to improve security or make alternative arrangements for the OPD department despite it being the fourth day of the boycott.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2023.