ISLAMABAD The health professionals including doctors, (medical and dental), allied specialists, pharmacists, nurses, paramedics and support services personnel of the federal hospitals have shown serious reservations on the newly notified service structure by the Health Ministry and majority of them have rejected notification. The Basic Pay Scales Scheme (BPS1 to 22) currently applicable to the health personnel serving in the federal health units and related organisations under the federal government shall be replaced by the Health Personnel Pay Scales (HPS 1 to 13). The new structure has been delinked from the BPS and all the existing staff has been given the option to join the new structure or remain with the existing basic pay scales. All fresh recruitments and hiring would however be made as per the new service structure. A meeting of Young Doctors Association, Islamabad Chapter held on Thursday which was attended by the doctors from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Federal Government Services Hospital (Polyclinic) and National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Islamabad whereas doctors from other cities also shared their views via phone during the meeting. They unanimously decided that the newly notified service structure is unacceptable to them as there are a lot of flaws in it and the regularisation of doctors has also not been addressed in it. Rejecting the notification they clarified that if the health ministry does not resolve the issues till Monday complete strike will be observed in all the Federal Hospitals. In PIMS there has been a mixed reaction and doctors have reservations over the new service structure. One of the doctors from PIMS opined that almost 90 per cent regular employees are not happy with the notification. Likewise, a meeting of nurses from different hospitals held at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) wherein about 80 nurses participated. They all rejected the new service structure and decided to write to the ministry about their grievances. Juliana from Pakistan Nursing Association, PIMS said nurses working in all the government hospitals run by the federal government are not satisfied with the new service structure, as it has no incentives for them. She said in the new structure other incentives including hiring, pension and job security has not been ensured and only basic salary has been increased which is almost equivalent to the old salary if we add other incentives in it that has been excluded from the new structure. She was of the view that the new structure is a lucrative incentive for the newly appointed nurses but not for the senior staff who have spent years in the service. They said if the ministry does not pay any heed towards their demand they would again go to protest. The pharmacists are also not happy with the newly notified service structure and strongly condemned it. The spokesperson of Pakistan Pharmacists Association Centre and Islamabad said that the pharmacists also hold 17 years of education like doctors but the ministry has adopted discriminatory attitude towards them. He said the doctors have been offered HPS 9, which is equivalent to grade 18, but the pharmacists have been given HPS 8, which is equivalent to 17. They also threatened to go on strike if their demands are not met.