YDA strike: Protesting doctors assault journalists
The ongoing Young Doctors Association (YDA) strike in Punjab took a turn for the worse on Saturday when an Express News team reporting on the condition of the patients at the Sheikh Zayed Hospital’s emergency department in Rahim Yar Khan was assaulted by the doctors. Several cameramen and journalists were wounded.
On the 13th day of the ongoing strike, YDA officials held a press conference at the hospital on Saturday. Once the conference was over, the reporting team tried to go to the emergency and the outpatient departments to cover the plight of patients affected by the strike. Some doctors, however, stopped the media men, demanding they do not report on anything other than the press conference.
When the media team refused to comply, some doctors in the emergency department snatched a cameraman’s equipment, beat him and dragged him into the emergency room where they held him captive. Reporters present with the cameraman were also beaten by doctors. Police personnel deployed outside the emergency department rushed to intervene, and escorted the journalists to safety.
Following the incident, journalist and activists staged a demonstration outside District Police Officer Sohail Zafar Chatta’s office. They demanded an FIR be filed against the doctors immediately. Later, journalists lead the protesters from the police station to the district coordination officer’s (DCO) office. The DPO and DCO assured them that swift action would be taken.
‘Genuine demands, aggressive methods’
General Sectary Pakistan Medical Association’s (PMA) Bahawalpur Chapter Dr Naeemudin said that the demands of the YDA were “genuine, but the methods adopted to convey them were aggressive.”
He added that the doctors had the full support of the PMA regarding the demands of a better service structure because it was the basic right of the doctors. When asked why the PMA did not publicly support the YDA or take part in the strike, Dr Naeemudin answered, “the decision of striking is wrong and should be the last resort. The PMA believes that all parties should reach a consensus by having talks.”
Director Cholistan Development Council Farooq Ahmed Khan demanded the government ban private practice of doctors, because while they remained on strike at public hospitals during the day, they held private clinics in the evenings.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2012.
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@Tazman: hahaha What are you talking about.. How's the media sacrificing patient confidentiality?!! Do even know what that means??
@Sumaira: It's the govt job to provide health care I agree with that but as a doctor it's your job not to abandon your patients. Just like PMA said there are other ways to protest rather then striking. I respect the PMA for not supporting this circus. This is ridiculous. Other thing you mentioned was why the other doctors were denied the jobs earlier but not now.. Well they were denied the jobs earlier cuz more qualified doctors were available and given these jobs but now that these selfish doctors are not doing their jobs the less qualified are better then no doctors at all!!!
I am ashamed of these 'doctors'.. Their decisions are affecting so many lives. They are supposed to be healers and they are causing people pain! The government should fire these selfish people and revoke their medical degrees, they don't deserve to be called doctors! Why do they have a problem with the media showing the emergency room patients.. They don't think they are doing anything wrong so let the media show what they want!! As a doctor myself I'm disgusted by this whole thing!!
Pakistan is the only country where you can become a "doctor" in 5 years... What a joke. It takes 10 years in US and Canada and 8 years in UK to become a qualified doctor.
@Tazman, yes in US/Canada police wouldve been called, but then why call police in Pakistan, when goons wearing white coats are just as effective.
Don’t blame the doctors for the misery of the patients. It is government’s responsibility to provide decent healthcare, and not doctors’. Now the question is why the new “1000 applicants” for walkin interviews were declined a job previously? Because they were not competent enough? How all of a sudden they will become qualified to serve the medical needs of the province. With this meager salary the government can employ only the Hakims. No wonder why Khadim-e-Aala goes to London for his medical treatment and the Military officials do their treatment in Pakistan. One reason: the latter employ their best. Whereas the Khadim-e-Aala never really want to provide healthcare, he just want it to look like there is some healthcare.
@Tazman: How is this a question of patient confidentiality? Covering the plight of suffering patients being denied treatment violates patient confidentiality? Says who?
Haha ! If the news cameras wanted to go into the emergency in Canada or the US the poise would have been called. The job of the media is to get information without sacrificing patient confidentiality.
Well done YDA !