Voice of dissent: Medical reps protest over visiting schedule at govt hospitals

Peshawar DC threatens to put representatives behind bars.

PESHAWAR: Medical Representative Welfare Association (MRWA) activists protested on Saturday to persuade the provincial government to relax visiting schedules for medical representatives.

Protesters gathered outside Peshawar Press Club (PPC) and shouted slogans against the visiting schedule. The protest was led by the association’s provincial general secretary Rahmanullah Khan and was attended by various members of the association.

In 2009, former chief justice of Peshawar High Court Dost Muhammad Khan had issued orders whereby medical representatives could only visit government hospitals between 2pm and 2:30pm. Any representative who did not follow this schedule was fined Rs10,000 or, in the event that the fine was not paid, taken into police custody.

Addressing the crowd at the PPC, the association’s president and executive member Afsar Khan urged the police to stop arresting medical representatives who do not follow the schedule.

“More often than not, our representatives do not get the opportunity to conduct proper inspections since doctors tend to leave by 1pm,” he said.

According to Khan, this has heavily influenced their work. “It is disappointing to note that the government has failed to provide opportunities for medical representatives,” he said. “Over 10,000 fresh graduates have recently been recruited. However, it is unlikely that they will have much of a future if the government continues to act like this.”

Meanwhile, Peshawar DC Zahirul Islam has issued a notification to all government hospitals to follow the order. Speaking to The Express Tribune, he advised medical representatives who are not pleased with the arrangement to work for private clinics.

The DC said 10 representatives have been fined so far. “We now plan to put people who breach the order behind bars for a month,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.