Doctors strike enters fifth day as dozens sacked

LAHORE: Sacking of around 47 Young Doctors Associations (YDA) activists by provincial health authorities did not seem to deter doctors from observing strike at government hospitals in Punjab as they continued their strike for the fifth consecutive day.

Junior doctors observed strike at outdoor and indoor patient wards of various public sector hospitals across the province to press for their demands. Although, the administration tried to keep wards open, yet patients suffering did not come to an end due to the absences of striking doctors.

A day before, the provincial health department had sacked around 47 doctors, 11 postgraduate trainee doctors and 36 house officers among them.

The doctors were suspended on the recommendation of disciplinary committees constituted by the administration of healthcare institutions to create deterrence against the practice of observing strikes at hospitals, which was taking heavy toll on patients.

The sacked doctors belonged to various hospitals, including Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Services Hospital Lahore, Shaikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, Allied Hospital Faisalabad and Aziz Bhatti Hospital Gujrat,

Authorities said they were compelled to take this extreme measure since patients were suffering the most. A patient had died few days ago at Jinnah Hospital due to doctors strike, the family members of the deceased said . However, YDA denied the allegations, saying, the patient had already died before he was brought to hospital.

The provincial authorities said the administration of medical superintendents of teaching hospitals have been asked to submit reports containing names of medics creating obstacles in healthcare services.