Patient Dies as MS is thrashed by young doctors | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Patient Dies as MS is thrashed by young doctors

GUJRANWALA\LAHORE: Young doctors beat and injured the DHQ Hospital medical superintendent, senior doctors and journalists during their protest here on Wednesday.

This situation resulted in the death of a hepatitis patient, Sharif, a resident of Ferozewala. His family also staged a protest demonstration and demanded stern action against the doctors who left the patient unattended. Other patients are also facing problems in getting treatment.

On Wednesday, young doctors held a protest to press for acceptance of their demands. They situation took an ugly turn when the protesters led by YDA district president Dr Kashif Bilal entered the office of Medical Superintendent Dr Anwar Maan, beat him and occupied his seat. They also injured senior doctors, including DMS Dr Sarfraz Khokhar, Dr Sohail Anjum Butt and Dr Mubashar Rathore, when they tried to save the MS. They also beat and injured 12 journalists, including Taseer of Geo News, Shafqat, Imran, Naveed Ali and Nadeem Qazi, for covering the incident. The policemen deputed in view of a doctors’ protest watched the unruly young doctors silently. They sprung into action when their superiors ordered them to do so and managed to arrest nine protesting young doctors, including President Dr Kashif Bilal and Dr Ihtesham and registered a case against 54 others.

The arrests further infuriated the YDA members and their colleagues like Punjab YDA president Dr Javed Lahore, Sialkot and Gujrat rushed to the Gujranwala DHQ Hospital and joined the hooliganism.

Meanwhile, PMA’s Gujranwala chapter president president Dr Tehsin Mazhar, former presidents Dr Gulzar and Dr Zahid Mehmood have condemned the hooliganism by the young doctors. They appealed to the Punjab government to deal with those involved in the incident with an iron hand.

In Lahore, the Young Doctors Association (YDA), Punjab, held a press conference on Wednesday evening and announced a strike in outdoor and indoor wards in all government hospitals.

“The young doctors will continue their strike till the suspension of Health Secretary Capt (retd) Arif Nadeem and registeration of a case of attempted murder against him,” Punjab YDA office-bearers told the press conference at Doctors Hostel of Services Hospital.

Initially, the young doctors closed Out-Patients Departments (OPDs) of all the hospitals in Punjab and later they also withdrew from indoor wards. Some reports suggested that the YDA activists also tried to shut down emergency wards in hospitals.

The poor patients suffered a great deal and cursed young doctors for observing a strike on every other day. They demanded immediate dismissal of the protesting doctors from service.

The YDA office-bearers alleged that the provincial bureaucracy was creating hurdles in implementing the recently-announced service structure for young doctors. They claimed that the Gujranwala incident was again a service matter as the Health Department had suspended the doctors and was reluctant to reinstate them.

They alleged that the Medical Superintendent had been threatening and torturing the young doctors. They claimed that several young doctors were also injured on Wednesday and they were not being given treatment on the orders of secretary health.


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