ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: Medical services were severely affected at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (Pims) on Wednesday when its Post-Graduate (PG) and House Officers (HO) staff went on an indefinite strike to demand raise in the stipend money for the PG students.

Together the 700 PGs and 200 HOs practically run the city’s biggest hospital, which is visited by about 3,000 patients daily and treats 1,200 patients in-house.

Senior doctors, surgeons and consultants employed by the Pims, a complex of three hospitals, provide mostly specialist services.

As they had promised before going on strike, the PGs and HOs attended to patients coming to the Emergency Ward only. All other in- and out-patients remained unattended.

No operations could be conducted on Wednesday in any of the three hospitals of the Pims — the Islamabad Hospital, Mother Care Hospital and the Children’s Hospital — because of the strike.

APP news agency quoted a patient as saying “only nurses are available for our medical care” and adding that the patients will have to move to other hospitals if that situation persisted.

Up to 600 striking doctors, carrying banners and placards, demonstrated outside the Pims’ administration to demand their monthly stipend be raised to Rs20,000 for PGs and to Rs12,000 for HOs from the present Rs10,000 and Rs5,000.

They put no faith in the administration’s promise that the issue would be decided by Eidul Fitr and vowed to remain on strike until their demands were met.

Senior officers of Pims and the health ministry took no initiative to talk to the strikers.

Dean of Quaid-i-Azam Post-Graduate Medical College, Prof Wajahat Bangash, however, issued a notice asking the PGs attached with QPGMC, Pims, to report to their clinical and academic duties immediately.

“As you all know doctors come under essential services rules and can not go on strike. This is also written in your contract singed by you at the time of induction,” the notice reminded the striking doctors who ignored it.