Nurses of Lady Reading Hospital hold a protest in favor of their demands. PHOTO: INP
The provincial nurses association on Wednesday called off its strike after the health minister assured stern action would be taken against the doctor accused of assaulting a nurse on duty.
Last week, 32-year-old Ghazala was allegedly abused and thrashed by trainee medical officer Dr Yaseen Khan for waking him up to tend to a patient at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).
Following the incident, nurses protested and boycotted all services, demanding criminal charges against the accused doctor. While the doctor was suspended, protesters claimed legal action had not been initiated against him. They vowed to continue the strike until the doctor was fired.
Visiting Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) to woo the nurses back to work, Tarakai said ill-treatment of the nurses would not be tolerated. “The nurses must trust the government. If they do not get justice, they have a right to protest.”
The provincial minister assured them a transparent enquiry will be conducted into the issue. He also claimed the doctor involved has already been terminated and others responsible for the accident will be held accountable too.
Provincial Nurses Association President Farukh Jalil, however, said justice has not been served. “Terminating the doctor will not solve our issues. Till the job of nurses is not considered important, the system will stay faulty.”
The chief executive of HMC was not present at Tarakai’s meeting with the nurses association.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2014.
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