Protesting nurses to be terminated, doctors warned to clear Mall Road

LAHORE: Authorities have finally taken action against the protesting nurses and doctors who have been staging a sit-in at Lahore’s Club Chowk for four days.

The Department of Health Punjab on Friday issued instructions for action against 10 of the nurses who boycotted their duties and joined the protest. Four contract nurses will be terminated with immediate effect while the other six will be dealt with in accordance with the PEEDA Act, officials said.

The Department has also issued orders to take action against Medical Officer Mayo Hospital Dr Hannan. According to sources from the Department of Health, the Medical Officer forced shut the Emergency ward at the hospital. Action will be taken against him under the PEEDA Act. 

Medical Superintendent Dr Amjad Shahzad said that these nurses marked their attendance and left their duties to join the sit-in.

He said that the hospital has recruited 44 new doctors, of whom 36 have already started their duties. 50 new nurses have also been recruited and assigned to different wards.

Meanwhile, authorities have decided to intervene and clear the city’s Mall Road, which has been the venue of the protesting doctors and nurses since this week.

Sources told Geo News that the protesting doctors would be arrested and cases would be registered against them.

The protestors would not be allowed to block the roads, the sources added.

Protest

Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab continued their sit-in protest at Lahore’s Club Chowk on Friday for the fourth day, boycotting duties as patients faced immense distress due to absence of medical treatment.

The young doctors and nurses boycotted OPDs at the Mayo Hospital and have been protesting on Mall Road throughout this week.

YDA spokesman Dr. Khurram Shehzad said the strike would continue till the restoration of sacked doctors at the Mayo Hospital. Authorities said that the doctors were sacked because they misbehaved with patients.

Two patients die, residents suffer

A one-year-old girl who had been in the hospital for the past four days died on Thursday. Her family claimed that she did not receive medical care.

Another patient died on Thursday, allegedly due to not having received timely medical care.

The Mayo Hospital administration had to call over medical students and senior faculty to tend to patients in the Emergency ward, after failing to summon the protesting doctors and nurses to the hospital.

Traffic jams

The doctors’ sit-in at Club Chowk caused heavy traffic jam on Mall Road, Davis Road, Canal Road and Garhi Shahu, disrupting public life. Many ambulances got stuck in the traffic jam due to road blockades.

Angry residents said the protesting doctors misbehaved with them when they asked for a way out of the jam. They said that the protesting doctors and nurses have brought blankets with them, and were seen breakfasting and taking selfies in the morning while the rest of the city suffered.

The residents demanded that the authorities take strict action against the protestors for creating difficulties for the public.