FAISALABAD/ LAHORE:
Hundreds of young doctors who have been on strike for over two weeks face disciplinary action after the authorities finally agreed on Tuesday to take strong measures against them for instigating patients against the government and breaking down the hospital system in Punjab.
Among other charges cited against the medics were resorting to illegal strikes, abandoning their duties, committing willful indiscipline, and indulging in activities detrimental to government and public interests.
The government also decided to proceed against all doctors involved in such activities under the Removal of Government Servant Act. In this regard, the Provincial Health Department has sought the details of young doctors to begin proceedings against them in accordance with the law.
Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Faisalabad Dr Abdur Rauf also confirmed that a “list of as many as 681 young doctors has been sent to the Provincial Health Department, which includes 377 doctors of Allied Hospital, 287 of Divisional Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital and 17 belonging to the Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology (FIC) and disciplinary action is likely to be taken against these doctors.
Senior doctors withdraw services at PIC Lahore
Senior doctors at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) announced that all departments at the hospital other than the emergency wards would be closed on Tuesday.
At a press conference at PIC, Medical Teachers Association (MTA) President at PIC, Dr Ijaz Ahsan, said senior doctors were withdrawing their services from all departments, including out-patient departments (OPDs).
“Young doctors are the backbone of our system. All arrested young doctors should immediately be released,” Ahsan said, adding that the doctors who have been deputed at PIC were inexperienced and could not handle heart patients.
“There were just two doctors in emergency at PIC last night. They were abused and threatened by attendants as they were unable to handle the situation,” Dr Ahsan said.
Freed after unconditional apology
The Punjab government accepted an unconditional apology from 24 out of 25 doctors detained under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) at Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore on Tuesday. The doctors were taken to Chief Minister Secretariat where they had a meeting with Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique.
After the meeting, Sanaullah said the Punjab government was willing to welcome all those protesting doctors who were ready to call off their strike and come back to work.The law minister ruled out negotiations with the protesting doctors.
Hippocratic oaths
On Tuesday, Justice Ijazul Ahsan of the Lahore High Court remarked that doctors who were participating in the current strike were not only violating their Hippocratic oaths but that their actions also violated the constitution.
According to him, the oath of doctors does not allow them to go on strike. Those who have done so have disgraced the oath by violating it. Justice Ahsan made these remarks while hearing a petition seeking directions for cancellation of practice licences and scrutiny of degrees of doctors participating in the ongoing strike.
Peshawar solidarity
The young doctors of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday vowed to support their striking colleagues in Punjab and called upon the government to release all doctors in detention and accept their demands for a revised service structure.
“The Punjab doctors have genuine demands of service structure and increase in their salaries but the provincial government is not in a position to accept these demands,” the provincial president of Young Doctors Association Dr Alamgir Khan Yousafzai told The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2012.
COMMENTS (4)
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doctors are right in demanding a proper uniform service structure. why isnt the government fair in dealing. when doctors in army cadre get promotions,, then why are civilans deprived? / In dispensaries /hospitals promotions, pay structure should be equally raised for all..ITS high time government should take steps to solve this issue .'
Punjab govt at its worst. They doctors maybe wrong but if the govt deoesn't believe in negotiations then this is dictatorship by Noon-League.
If people still don't realize then you deserve what you get.
Another mafia has raised its head. They are just blackmailing the governemnt at the expense of ordinary people. They must be taught a lesson to avoid such occurrences in future.
Doctors are not doing this themselves, they are being forced to do this. They are being picked up by police and being taken to unknown places. Their mothers are sitting outside jails not knowing that their son is present inside or not. Two doctors have been tortured to death in custody in the past four days. ET, why not reporting these ?