Protesting doctors in K-P
Govt needs to allocate appreciably larger budget to the health sector
The provision of quality health facilities is the prime responsibility of the government and it needs to allocate an appreciably larger budget to this sector so that state-run health institutions fulfill the needs of the people. However, the option of choosing government or private hospitals irritates one. The reason is obvious: though private hospitals charge more than government-run ones, they satisfy caregivers and patients by giving value for money.
As poor patients came to the three major public hospitals of Peshawar from across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and even Afghanistan, their problems were increased manifold a few days ago due to complete strike of doctors’ associations for their demands. There was no doubt that some of the demands of the doctors’ community were genuine yet they put the burden for acceptance of these demands on the shoulders of common people. Not only did the patients return home hopeless, thousands of people on roads also suffered a lot because the main Khyber Road were blocked for hours by protesting doctors. And they also closed their private clinics that made the problem even worse.
When it comes to the matter of money, anyone can see a clear difference between government hospitals and private clinics. You would be given enough time to tell all your problems calmly in private clinics so that even the minor issues can be resolved. While in government hospitals, most of the treatment is done by trainee doctors. The trainee doctors get Rs29,000 as stipend during their one-year training after they do MBBS from medical colleges. There are hardly any institutions in the country which offer such a stipend during trainings. No doctor has protested the lack of resources in the hospitals. The medical fraternity would say that they have extra workload at major hospitals that is why they cannot provide treatment like they do in clinics.
Medical facilities should be improved from the grass roots level, starting from rural health centres, basic health units, tehsil and district hospitals. Departmental action needs to be taken against staffers who refuse to take charge when they are transferred to far-flung areas of the province where the writ of the state is minimal.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2015.
As poor patients came to the three major public hospitals of Peshawar from across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and even Afghanistan, their problems were increased manifold a few days ago due to complete strike of doctors’ associations for their demands. There was no doubt that some of the demands of the doctors’ community were genuine yet they put the burden for acceptance of these demands on the shoulders of common people. Not only did the patients return home hopeless, thousands of people on roads also suffered a lot because the main Khyber Road were blocked for hours by protesting doctors. And they also closed their private clinics that made the problem even worse.
When it comes to the matter of money, anyone can see a clear difference between government hospitals and private clinics. You would be given enough time to tell all your problems calmly in private clinics so that even the minor issues can be resolved. While in government hospitals, most of the treatment is done by trainee doctors. The trainee doctors get Rs29,000 as stipend during their one-year training after they do MBBS from medical colleges. There are hardly any institutions in the country which offer such a stipend during trainings. No doctor has protested the lack of resources in the hospitals. The medical fraternity would say that they have extra workload at major hospitals that is why they cannot provide treatment like they do in clinics.
Medical facilities should be improved from the grass roots level, starting from rural health centres, basic health units, tehsil and district hospitals. Departmental action needs to be taken against staffers who refuse to take charge when they are transferred to far-flung areas of the province where the writ of the state is minimal.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2015.