Doctors’ strike: Healthcare crisis hits Balochistan

Amid boycott doctors demand safe recovery of abducted cardiologist

QUETTA:

Balochistan has plunged into a healthcare crisis on Saturday as no doctor turned up to attend the patients at outdoor patients department (OPDs) of all state-run hospitals.

Doctors have intensified their protest by going on a full strike at OPDs to pressure the government to take action for a safe and early recovery of the kidnapped cardiologist Munaaf Tareen.

Tareen was kidnapped on September 17 in front of his cardiac hospital near Pishin Bus Stop in Quetta. Doctors have been on strike for the past 49 days and had not attended the patients at OPDs after 11:00 am, but Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Saturday announced to intensify their protest.

“Doctors will not attend the patients at OPDs. However, they will treat the emergency cases,” Dr Faiz Hashmi, General Secretary, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), told The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, Prof Qurban Bugti , Dr Sher Mohmmed Tareen, Dr Ali Dost Baluch, Dr Akbar Sufi, P rof Iqbal Tareen, Dr Faiz Hashmi and Prof Baqi Durrani observed token hunger strike. It was the 42th day of hunger strike camp set up by doctors inside the Sandeman Hospital. President of Supreme Court Bar Association Kamran Murtaza visited the camp and assured of his full support to doctors.

Doctors were not present at Bolan Medical Complex Teaching Hospital (BMC), Sandeman Hospital, Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital, Helper Eye Hospital, Shaikh Zaid Hospital of Heart Diseases and Benazir Shaheed Hospital in Quetta. There are only two hospitals that attend to emergency cases – the BMC and Sandeman Hospital.

“I was told to go to private hospital for treatment where I can meet the doctor I am looking for,” a woman at Sandeman Hospital told this scribe. She came from Kuchlak, an outskirt of Quetta city.

Doctors have boycotted the OPDs in all the district headquarters and divisional headquarters hospitals in other 31 districts of the province.

Doctors were not present at state run hospitals in Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Kachhi, Bolan, Nasirabad, Sibi, Jaffarabad, Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Barkhan, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Kech, Gwadar, Awaran, Panjgur, Naushki, Chagai, Kharan, Mashkey, Zhob and Pishin.

On the contrary, private hospitals were doing roaring business at the cost of ailing humanity. The private hospitals are run by doctors who are on strike.

“The doctors have their own private clinics and hospitals but medical stores as well,” Abdullah, a patient suffering from skin disorder said.

When asked to comment on the growing business of private hospitals, General Secretary PMA, Dr Faiz Hashmi said the next step will be to suspend the services at private hospitals.

Dr Tareen was the 26th doctor kidnapped for ransom from Balochistan. Many doctors like him run their private hospitals and clinics in Quetta where patients come not only from other parts of the province but also from the war-torn Afghanistan.

More than 80 doctors have migrated from Quetta due to deteriorating law and order while more than 20 have been shot dead. Some of them were first listed as ‘missing persons’ and later on their bullet riddled bodies were found at public places.

“This protest is for the protection of doctors. Tareen is not the first case, many doctors were killed and there was no investigation,” Dr Hashmi said.“We will take back our strike call once government makes any progress into the investigation,” he added.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2013.