LAHORE – The young doctors continued their strike on Wednesday at the OPDs at all public sector hospitals across the province after an incident of violence at the DHQ Hospital, Gujranwala.
The young doctors attended the patients at medical camps set up outside the OPDs in protest against lodging of criminal cases and departmental actions against their colleagues.
A young doctor spokesman said that they would resume duties at the OPDs only after acceptance of their demand of impartial inquiry into the Gujranwala incident.
Since January 11, the YDA has been on strike to press the government for acceptance of demands. On January 10, the association has announced a protest campaign across the province.
Making it clear that emergency, outdoor and indoor will not be closed, YDA Punjab announced to hold peaceful protest outside all public sector hospitals in the province on Thursday (today) to press for the demand of registration of an FIR for torture on young doctors in Gujranwala.
Addressing a press conference at hostel of Services Hospital on Wednesday, YDA Punjab President Dr Javaid Iqbal Aheer that the police were not registering version of young doctors in Gujranwala incident while the health department was victimizing YDA men. Aheer claimed that the health department has transferred 200 hundred young doctors from Jinnah Hospital alone and the same was the situation at other health facilities.
On the other hand, a spokesman for health department has said that Essential Services Act 1958 has been enforced at all government hospitals under which all the doctors and paramedics are bound to perform their duty. He said that action will be taken against the elements involved in strikes or creating hurdles in the treatment of patients. He said that government has made proper security arrangements to provide protection to dutiful doctors and staff performing duties at the hospitals to ensure provision of healthcare facilities to the masses.