Medics to extend duty boycott

Grand Health Alliance blames police threats for aggravation

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LAHORE:

Dozens of surgeries scheduled in government hospitals have been postponed because of boycot of duties by medical professionals protesting against privatisation.

The postpone the came as the Grand Health Alliance announced that its members would suspend the inpatient services in the hospitals after the outpatient departments.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government is sekking the help of doctors serving in the local governments, on senior hospital post and the police to help mitigate the effect of the boycott.

The government has also initiated legal action against the doctors and other health officers remaining absent from duties.

The OPDs and operation theatres in many big hospitals of the provimce are closed as the Grand Health Alliance is not willing to join duties.

According to sources, the majority of the doctors have boycotted the duties.

The authorities had launched a crackdown to end the Grand Health Alliance's protest on Mall Road and several protesters had been arrested during the past week. A number of doctors and other employees were thrashed also when they tried to protest in front of the CM Office.

The alliance has now announced that its members would close the inpatient services in the province after the outpatient departments.

The Grand Health Alliance is protesting against the privatisation of health facilities in Punjab.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore General Hospital, leaders of the alliance blamed the government for aggravating the protest by threatening doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, and targeting them with vindictive actions.

If the government continued such actions, the indoor services would be closed in the public sector hospitals of the province from Monday, they said.

They said the employees would also stop checkups of patients.

The leaders of healthcare professionals vowed not to allow the privatisation of the hospitals.

However, they said the government should hold a dialogue with them because they want to discuss their basic issues.

Young Doctors Association General Secretary Dr Salman Haseeb said the doctors had been threatened through the police, because of which they would stop the indoor services.

Meanwhile, letters of suspension from service were sent to many doctors.

"At the moment our focus is on reviving the treatment facilities in the hospitals, especially to continue work in the operation theatres because patients are suffering," said a senior official of the health department.

The official said the department had approached doctors serving in local governments and on management posts of hospitals to start the treatment facilities, but issues were being faced in this regard.

He conceded that the majority of doctors in the province were protesting.