Doctors decry violence, lack of security

Healthcare providers face physical assaults while fulfilling duty of saving lives, yet govt fails to respond: PMA

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) expresses deep concern and condemns the alarming incidents of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan, as highlighted in the recent report issued by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC).

PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said that the PMA has always highlighted the issue of security of doctors.

"We have been continuously demanding the governments to provide security to the healthcare workers but unfortunately healthcare providers face physical assaults while fulfilling their noble duty of saving lives."

Private Hospitals and Clinics Association President Dr Syed Junaid Ali Shah and Secretary Dr Farhan Essa have strongly condemned assault on Dr Saad Rafiq by relatives of a child who died during treatment at the Children's Hospital Lahore.

They said a premature baby was admitted to the Children's Hospital, but despite the tireless efforts of the doctors, the baby could not survive.

The family members brutally attacked Dr Saad Rafiq due to which his skull was broken and he was lying battling for his life in ICU of Lahore General Hospital.

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