OPD services suspended at NICVD over staffers' protest for third day

KARACHI: Out Patient Department (OPD) services at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) remained suspended for the third straight day in Karachi following a protest from the staffers for the approval of their demands, ARY NEWS reported.

Thousands of cardiac patients have to return from the OPD section of the NICVD without getting treatment after the employees refused to end their strike.

The NICVD employees are claiming that rather than being provided with a COVID allowance of serving during the pandemic, their salaries for December have been released after deduction without giving any explanation of it.

They demanded the administration to reverse the deduction and threatened to continue boycott of the OPD services until their demands are met.

In December 2021, the staff of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) boycotted the hospital services and observed a strike in favour of their demands.

The protesting employees chanted slogans in favour of their demands after boycotting the services, causing problems for the patients and their caretakers.

They demanded of the authorities to release their health risk allowance and professional health allowance that has been withheld for the last 14 months.

We have been risking our lives in the pandemic to treat the patients, but the government has not released our allowances, the protesting NICVD employees said.

They also demanded the provision of health insurance cards and promotion on merit.