Saturday was a day of relief for the people seeking treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) as outpatient departments (OPD), sealed for over two weeks, reopened.
The OPDs at Pims were unlocked without any clashes between protesters and doctors. The Pims OPDs were locked up by members of the non-medical staff’s joint action committee (JAC), leaving doctors with no access to necessary diagnosis facilities. The protestors are opposed to the Health Personnel Bill 2012 currently under deliberation in the Parliament.
The OPDs were unlocked soon after an ultimatum was issued by the Young Doctors Association Pims on Friday threatening to seal the administration’s offices if the OPDs were not opened on Saturday.
On Saturday, around 2,200 patients were checked in the OPDs and doctors substituted for staff on protest, sitting at the registration desk and issuing slips to the patients.
Meanwhile the protests continued in the hospital lawns, with leaders saying that the strike will only be called off when they get a notification on their demands.
JAC spokesperson Manzar Naqvi told The Express Tribune they had received a call from the Prime Minister House on Saturday, which gave them hope that their demands will be addressed within the next few days.
The OPDs at Polyclinic Hospital and National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, however, remained shut.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2012.
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