Punjab healthcare crisis: Govt swoops on doctors in Lahore
A gruelling healthcare crisis in Punjab turned nasty on Sunday when police launched a crackdown on protesting young medics following the failure of a last-ditch effort by intermediaries to avert a standoff.
The late-night swoop came a day after Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif set a 24-hour deadline for the Young Doctors Association, Punjab chapter, to unconditionally call off their two-week long strike or else face the consequences.
A group of senior doctors met with YDA representatives on Sunday to win them over – but the young medics refused to budge on their demands.
Subsequently, the police launched a crackdown on the doctors’ hostel at Lahore’s Services Hospital and detained 40 medics. Key YDA leaders, however, managed to dodge the police and escape from the hostel.
The general council of YDA was in session at the time of raid, according to officials. The meeting was discussing a future course of action following the breakdown of talks on Sunday.
“We have instructions from our senior officials not to beat or misbehave with any young doctor. We are here to detain them,” a police officer told The Express Tribune. Police also searched the hostel during the raid.
Health crisis
In retaliation, young doctors at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) closed down the emergency ward. Several medics also withdrew their services from indoor departments of several state-run hospitals, including Mayo and Services hospitals.
“We are also in contact with doctors in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and the strike could be extended to other parts of the country if our demands are not met,” an YDA member told The Express Tribune.
To deal with the situation arising from the raid, the health department cancelled the leaves of all teaching and non-teaching cadres and directed the doctors to report on duty in their respective hospitals.
Failed talks
Earlier in the day, representatives from the Pakistan Medical Association and the Medical Teachers Association met with YDA officials.
“At a point they were ready to call it off and meet with the chief minister but then, all of a sudden, they got confused. They failed to take a decision and the deadline passed,” a senior professor, who attended the talks, told The Express Tribune.
“Apparently, the YDA is getting instructions from someone else. Half of their leadership was in Rawalpindi despite the fact that an important meeting was taking place in Lahore,” added another participant of the meeting.
A senior health department official blamed several professors and principals of medical colleges for the crisis. “A list of 50 troublemakers – who are professors and heads of institutes – has been compiled and they might be transferred to remote areas if their involvement with YDA is proved,” he added.
Govt’s response
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique told The Express Tribune that “Departmental action will be initiated against doctors from Monday (Today). As per law, they can be blacklisted, sacked and even sued,” he said. Rafique said 1,000 new doctors will be hired to run OPDs and senior doctors would also work to examine patients.
Another health department official said that the government would write to the British College of Physicians to ban the striking doctors. He said letters would also be sent to some Middle Eastern countries where Pakistani medics have a huge market, asking to a ban on doctors who create disturbance and cause problems for patients by closing OPDs.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (65)
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Same should be done with lawyers boycotting the courts
Kill the Doctors , Sack His Majesty King Shahbaz Sharif...
may i ask imran khan youth .. Where they stand on this issue ? Why media is not showing real story ! Service structure is our legitimate right ! Why CM shahbaz is making a mess ! Give us service structure ! Why always unfulfiled promises ?
@juni: its not only SS who is wrong with his adamant stance but the Doctors too... 14 full day strike... for Gods sake!
what in the world is YDA... Is it officially recognized member/licensing for medical professionals? Today these people have combined under yda garb, tomorrow it would be intermediate doctors, then seniors... Where does it end? I hope the govt takes an even more serious stance against these people and terminate all troublemakers. They shouldcancel their licenses and flag these guys to any foreign countries that they might be thinking of running off to. There is a way for professionals to ask for their percieved rights, but behaviors like this is criminal and taking people hostages.
attack of punjab police on drs was thebrutality that outraged most of the drs that were not involved in strikes............. the sight of police beating the drs affected most of the young drs that made the condition bad to worse ............ shahbaz sharif damn care about poor people ... he gets his treatment from usa....................... brutality of shahbaz made the condition nearly deplorably in govt hospitals .... today 8 died............ however before police attack there was no death reported............... media is biased and painting the drs as killers............ drs may have made mistakes .... but state should have won them over by peaceful means..................................
The whole issue lies in our national system where looters and dacoits sits in Government and assemblies and doesnot give rights to educated and intellectuals. Right now the PML-N Ministers are metriculation failed. They even cannot clear one single exam of MBBS and now they are ruling the intellectuals. Doctors have a right. They serve 20 hours in emergencies after doing the hardest studies on the planet. Even in after Mid 30's doctors only gets 40-50K Rs. At that time they resign and join jobs internationally resulting in deterioration of national health landscape. In the whole globe budget for health is about 4-5% of GDP. In pakistan its the lowest because government has to bear expenses of their Mercedese and BMW's along with requiring budget to build their palaces and to do shopping at Harrods in England. It's the time for the nation to wake up and get rid of these looters. Otherwise doctors and other intellectuals will leave the country and whole system inside the country will collapse.
more than 36 doctor arrested and tortured by punjab govt watch this video which shows reality of punjab police and punjab govt http://goo.gl/WKTJu
Well done all my tribune reader friends! Our uniformed illogical and condescending comments will surely solve the healthcare crisis! Let us rue these uniformed illogical and condescending politicians and these uniformed illogical and condescending doctors and pat ourselves on the back, because our support and lack of interest or reading into the issue has DEFINITELY saved lives, given doctors an incentive to stay in the country, AND has improved life for all the people of Punjab whilst also sticking it to the Army (who already are better paid and already have the incentives demanded by the docs)! Well done ET posters!
@Rana Azhar Maqbool: Dear Rana Have you ever ever in your life heard about " career"??? I think NEVER heard about that. Doctors are NOT fighting for money or pay raise, they are pushed to go on strike for their CARRERS.
@Rashid Rupani: Yes, SEVERE RESPONSIBILITY, Did you ever peeped into a doctors life who joins service at age of say 30 years in pay grade 17 and after 30 years of SEVERE RESPONSIBILITY, retires in same pay grade 17 in which he was inducted. Is there any SMALL if not SEVERE RESPONSIBILITY of those who are benefitted by doctors, to think about it and support doctors instead of making such ignorant comments.
@Hamid: Yes fire them all and take your children to hakeems, peers, veeds, homeopaths---- but promise to god don't come to doctor even if you have simple tooth ache. Man come out of stone age cave!!!!
@Sedqal: Dear if you have any near and dear a doctor, you would have never dared to use " filmsy" service structure. I would suggest you to have at least 15 min information discussion with one who has been victimized by this FILMSY demand to enlighten you so that you don't make such ignorant comments.
i ask all those who are commenting against the doctors to tell me what the doctors are demanding with references from doctors not the punjab govt. and then tell us that is it not their right to have what they are demanding?
punjab govt, the civil society and the media is responsible for the sufferings of the patients where were u all when the doctors were peacefull wearing black bands and displaying cards for the demand of their service structure. no 1 listened them at that time and now u are complaining. the reality is that no1 in pakistan takes any kind of action unless 1 becomes violent or extreme. the doctors have in the past asked many times for some1 to come and fight for them so that they should keep on looking after the patients but no1 came.
@Fasih Siddiqui:
Absolutely true. well written.
Shame on the encouraging comments the arrest of doctors. Do you people even know what the strike is about?
Though the demands of the YDA are legitimate, an alternative course of action should have been employed. The extremely unfortunate loss of lives has not only skewed public opinion against us and tarnished our image (us being doctors), it has also diverted attention from our demands. However, CM Shahbaz should not be hailed as a hero of any sort for his obstinate behavior. He is equally responsible for the discomfort and death of the patients. Overworked and underpaid doctors require some respite; they require well-equipped hospitals to work in; they require proper working hours; they require a salary that compensates all the hard work and time they put in (from 5 years in medical school, 1 year of house job and all the extra years required to specialize in a field). It isn't easy a make ends meet with a pittance of a salary. Good prayers and wishes don't feed mouths, nor do they provide a good education to doctors' wards. Every profession in the world requires some form of incentive. I would like to see how many people join the army, civil service or even play for our national cricket team if these institutions had the same pay and service structure as the public health service. I would also like to point out that tax-payer rupees are also used to finance the education of professionals apart from doctors (engineers, etc.), yet doctors are the only people that the public expect to somehow repay the investment put into them by being completely selfless. I acknowledge that working in a sensitive field such as healthcare entails an extra level of responsibility on doctors, but an inadequate remuneration for their efforts results in disillusionment and hostility. Doctors are human after all.
when a country is beating up its own doctors its really telling what it has come to
unfortunately the same old trend , listening to one part of the story and then jumping to conclusion without evaluating arguments of other side. then we complain about tolerance, being of other side of the argument in our country is enough to get killed.
Shameful !
the way i'm seeing it the CM has unnecessarily created a crisis in election year and he wants to come out of it as HERO who saved the country from medical crisis ?
Shehbaz Sharif has taken all the necessary steps to resolve the issue. I think that now these doctors should be dismissed from the job. They are playing with the lives of innocent citizens.
The parents of these doctors should intervene. They should teach these greedy doctors who are defaming the noble profession.
They should be no mercy for these butcher doctors. They should be treated in the same way as they are traeting the patients. No respect for these killers and greedy doctors. They are defaming the noble profession. Punjab government has already taken many steps for them but their greed does not come to an end.
What else these doctors want they are already getting more then what their colleagues get in other provinces of pakistan. They obtain their degress with tax payers money and refusing to pay back. Make them pay hundred of thousand rupees nation spent on their degrees first and let them protest
These doctors are making fool of a noble profession. Punjab government has already done a lot for them. Allah show the right path to these doctors who are playing with lives of people.
@Dr. Alia Ali: will u think the same if fahad is ur son or brother? fahad who??? the kid died yesterday when so called doctors took drip out of him. i would have shot them in head if i was there.
Since docs are ordinary middle class people like, they will be treated with iron hands! I wish Punjab govt would have dealt the petrol / CNG station owners in the same way as they closed the pumps when the price was slashed!!!
The way protesting doctors were treated and storming of their residences is deplorable. They are the cream of this nation, they must be dealt with respect.
Well fighting for their RIGHTS isn't bad; and do not teach them lessons of morality because Morals cannot fulfill hunger or basic needs of anyone!
Dears Above All can somebody tell these Doctors, how to protest for their Rights . . .???
Skin the YDA members for violating the norms of professional ethics, law, decency and humanity. Book them for the miseries they have caused to the ailing and suffering humanity.
These young doctors are doing wrong. People are dying because of them. Their salariea are already very good that were revised by Punjab Government. These doctors should be punished for their un-ethical and non-professional behaviour. Shame on these doctors.
A move a bit of too late, but still better late than never. These stoops should be severely punished and made a lesson to others as well. Despite their due demands, right or wrong, they have no moral right to play with the life of poor.
These butchers should be hanged publicly.Poor people are dying everyday and YDA goes on strike every other month on one reason or the other.They dont deserver to be in this nobal profession.They already taking much better salaries compared to other departments.They got almost free education on govt expenses and experience in govt Hospitals.
Young doctors have been exploited for a long time as "savers of humanity" with poor salaries and poor structure for their progress. Less deserving people in our country have always got better perks, higher salaries and powers. Doctors have to struggle for 10-15 years before they reach anywhere, to have a decent income in this age of inflation. Why are they being held responsible for stoppage of facilities in hospitals. They have to be supervised by seniors who are busy in their private work so where are they and politicians who are spending money for their own benefits rather than improving services.
Government has to solve their issues and take some responsibility. Improve their salaries, give them some respects and benefits which they deserve and you will see the difference in their output. Don't make them scapegoat for your own failures.
Doctor way of protest is INJUSTIFIED just assume one of our family member having life threat, needs urgent treatment and find nobody to look after him.
These butcher doctors should be severely punished. 2.5 million rupees is spent on each doctor in medical college. All this money comes from the pocket of tax payers. Salaries of doctors are already fine. They strike is totally unlawful. All of them should be arrested under section 302 as patients are dying. Shame for these young doctors.
@Independent: Its not to stand for there rights , its to destabilize Pakistan. Doctors has a responsibility on there shoulders. There is a better way to protest, and infact there is no reason to protest . They are already taking very high wadges. Killing innocent is worst either its by terrorist using guns or doctors doing such acts.
Nazi league failed to resolve YDA issue and came to solve by state terrorism.It is clear SMS to Baluchistan & FATA.
@Imran: Strict actions are required to deal with criminals.
Should take strict action against DR.; they are playing with precious lives of masses just for "MONEY", any segment of our society gains power use abuse of power. They should realize their responsibilities.
I am appalled at the skewed reporting of the YDA strike. It is criminal to fan hatred by projecting a negative image of a very hardworking and unrewarded section of society without presenting views and historical perspectives on both sides. Such irresponsible journalism is shameful and reeks of establishment backed propaganda to help exert pressure that will allow the government to not deliver on sorely needed, criminally neglected and agreed upon steps that must be instituted in the ailing sector of Health in Punjab.
Would someone care telling the poor people of Pakistan what is their fault in all this?
There are civilized ways of protesting but YDA in the last 1-2 years had been playing in the hands of others.
It was sad to see doctors being dragged into police mobiles, but sadder to see patients losing their lives.
Showbaz Sharif still thinks its Uncle Zia Era. Senior doctors need to tell the government that now they will join the strike if the YDA leadership isnt released... I fail to understand why the government felt the need to aggravate the situation.
Seems some civilian dictator is at the helms of the affairs.
Doctors have become savages . We are equally working our *ss off , why they deserve raisal and not us ? Already doctors are earning way more than , rest of professionals. Its high time to push them to their limits . Dear Docs ,Be a saviour , not SAVAGE
more and more drs will leave pakistan........................ and pakistan will be left with quacks........................ shabaz sharif has no problem whatso ever because he gets his treatment from the most expensive hospital in usa i.e mount sinai hospital in new york city..................... so my advice to drs will be to leave pakistan as soon as possible.................................
Fire each and every doctor. Never allow them to practice again. The doctors should be made to pay compensation for all patients that suffered during this strike. Doctors should be be given long jail sentences if their patients died.
Well done Punjab Govt !! Well arresting these butchers wont solve the issue permanently, For permanent solution please detect the source from where these young butchers get inspiration for that you may have to tap the big wigs of Sindh or Gujrat.
Most of the Young (Though most of them are in middle aged) Doctors are product of Russion/China's Medical Colleges
This is a duel between the elite and the ordinary. Doctors tried to get their just due from elite but the elite would not allow it lest others in public service may also demand more. There are always billions available for the elite for foreign tours, palaces and squandering but never for the ordinary folks.
Don't like the terms and conditions of the job, resign and find an other job which better suite your demands, why all this fuss, he has to make sure Punjab is not turned into unlawful area. So he have to take action to control.
@Independent: Failed to meet your profeshnal duty is not fighting with corrupts, dont mix it up , stand up for your right but don't step on people's life and health. You can not do it anywhere in the world but only in Pakistan and still claim to be profeshnal and right.
Do your duty and demand for better terms of job is your right but dont stop doing your job. what if others start doing so, no couts, no police, no office, it does not work this way, if you out in any other country you will be in big trouble as profeshinelly.
Things are turning Ugly & Uglier in the hand of Shabaz Shareef (The by-product of Marshal law)
At last some one in the country has courage to stand up for their rights and fight against corrupt regimes. If all the trade and labour organizations came out on the streets for their due rights , corrupt government will not sustain for even a week. It is time to retaliate.
Shameful and condemnable act. The tyrannical Khadim-e-Aala is taking it too far.
Three cheers for Punjab Government. YDA had crossed every limit and there was a constant danger that other departments might follow suit. Writ of government has to be established and this havoc must stop.
At this moment in time, when Pakistan is facing critical challenges at the economic front, where a high population of youth is jobless, where industries are shutting down on daily basis, I find it outright offensive that YDA will disregard their duty to patients on the flimsy pretext of service structure. YDA is utterly devoid of any moral standing as the real demands have been made public and revolve around cars, residence, drivers and utility bills.
Punjab Government should award strict penalties to discourage further adventurism by this misguided group.
If anyone of them falls sick or injured in custody, do not provide him any medical treatment. Release them only when they become "Banday dey Puttar"
Although it was well known that who is behind this matter but now it is open to every one. Good move to clean the system and make the dr, realize after all they have duty to do.
They should be severely punished so other doctors get lesson. Doctor degree comes with sever responsibility, If you would like to earn in millions, do other work.