Young doctors observe province-wide strike

LAHORE: On the call of the Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, young doctors continued complete strike in Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) in all teaching hospitals all over Punjab on Tuesday to protest against the Punjab Health Department’s decision to transfer ad hoc postgraduate trainees and post newly-selected medical officers by the Punjab Public Service Commission primarily in teaching hospitals of Lahore.

In Lahore, their strike at the outdoor departments of all teaching hospitals entered the sixth consecutive day, which caused immense hardships for patients and their attendants.

However, patients, requiring outdoor treatment, voluntarily stopped visiting hospitals in as many numbers as in routine days in anticipation for the unavailability of healthcare services to patients.

The outdoor as well as indoor departments wore a deserted look, as the doctors stayed away from their duties. As a result, hundreds of thousands of the patients were left unattended.

Sources told that even the scheduled surgeries were also postponed due to strike of the doctors.

Doctors posted in emergency wards said that though the number of patients, requiring outdoor services, had significantly dropped due to the closure of outdoor services in hospitals, yet the load of patients increased in emergency wards.

Besides, patients also had to face a lot of difficulties besides bearing the ordeal of long wait to get treatment in emergency wards. The emergency departments witnessed extraordinary number of the patients, as many preferred to seek treatment there because the outdoor departments were shut down for last five days.

The patients strongly criticized the doctors for denial of cheap medical treatment facilities, as they could not afford the expensive treatment at the private hospitals.

They demanded a stern action against the doctors for their apathetic behavior towards the poor masses. (PPI)