Following suit: After Pindi, Islamabad nurses join protest

Threaten to observe a complete strike after Muharram if their demands are not met.

ISLAMABAD:

To express solidarity and support with their colleagues across Punjab, nurses of the public hospitals in Islamabad organised a rally at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Saturday.

They threatened to go on a complete strike after Muharram if the Punjab Government does not fulfil the demands of nurses in Punjab.

They condemned the incident in Lahore a few days back where nurses were beaten up by the women police during a protest. They demanded immediate action against the people involved in the incident and threatened that if no action is be taken by the Punjab government, they will request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the incident.

Staff nurses from Pims, Polyclinic Hospital, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Hospital and the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) organised a rally from the administration block to the Burn Centre, chanting slogans against the Punjab government.

While addressing the rally, Pims Nursing Association General Secretary Sadia Bushra said nursing is a very tough profession, especially in Pakistan due to an acute shortage of nurses.

“Due to the shortage in a majority of hospitals, a single nurse has to look after patients of entire wards, which should be acknowledged by the government,” she said.

“Today [the nurses in Punjab] are on the road, and instead of paying heed to their woes, [the government is] perpetrating violence on them,” she said.

Meanwhile the staff nurses in the three government hospitals of Rawalpindi continued their complete strike on the second day and organised a rally at Holy Family Hospital (HFH).

The strike badly disrupted healthcare services in the three hospitals. However, they did not withdraw their services from critical areas, including emergency departments and intensive care units.

Zubia Mehmood, a staff nurse, said, “The news that one of our fellow nurses in Lahore who fell victim to violence a few days ago is comatose and in critical condition has created panic and fear among us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2011.