Cancellation of Eid holidays: Doctors not happy with decision

Say step taken to score political points.

LAHORE:

The Health Department on Saturday officially cancelled the Eid holidays of doctors working at government hospitals.

Doctors, on the other hand, believe that the dengue outbreak has let up and there is no need to cancel their Eid holidays. The holidays were cancelled after Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered that provision of medical facilities to patients, especially those with dengue fever, be ensured without disruption during Eid holidays.

He also ordered the additional chief secretary and secretaries of Health and Irrigation departments to monitor the attendance of doctors. A doctor at Mayo Hospital, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that the number of dengue fever patients had gone down and the cancellation of Eid holidays of all doctors did not make sense.

“It’s being done to score political points. Emergencies can deal with patients satisfactorily,” he said.

When contacted for comment, the Health Department spokesperson reacted strongly to the accusation. He said that doctors are taught to serve humanity and no “sensible doctor” could term the decision political. He added that the step had been taken to facilitate patients and had nothing to do with scoring points. “This [dengue outbreak] is an emergency and emergency measures are being taken to cope with the situation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2011.