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KARACHI, July 21: Hundreds of patients visiting the federal government-run Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Monday had to suffer as the out-patients departments (OPDs) did not provide service to patients while doctors and paramedics continued their strike against the manhandling of a doctor by some people on Sunday night.
According to JPMC sources, the hospital staff had stopped work on Sunday evening when a doctor of the neurology department was manhandled by a group of attendants and friends of a patient, who was brought there with a head injury.
The OPDs were opened as usual on Monday morning but protesting doctors and other staffs resumed their protest and forced closure of the OPDs asking patients to leave. The protesters were expressing solidarity with Dr Safdar Arain, who had been manhandled the previous day. The emergency department, however, remained unaffected by the protest, a source said.
While patients were seen perturbed over the closure of OPDs, additional deployment of police to meet any eventuality was also witnessed on the JPMC premises, said another source, adding that an FIR of the doctors’ manhandling was lodged.
The doctor was beaten up so severely that one of his hands got fractured. His attackers were quoted as saying that doctors at the JPMC were not attending to their patient properly and doing so deliberately.
When contacted, JPMC executive director Dr Shoaib Memon Mir told Dawn that hospital staff went on strike after the incident but they had since called it off. He said he held a meeting with representatives of protesting doctors on Monday and persuaded them to resume work at OPDs and other departments.
Dr Mir stated that the patient in the row had reported to the hospital with some minor injury and was likely to be discharged in a day or two.
Contradicting his claim, another source said that OPDs remained closed till Monday evening and working at a couple of wards was also affected by the strike. “The protesting staff has given a 24-hour deadline to the JPMC administration for action against those involved in the attack on Dr Arain,” the source said.
PMA, PMDA slam attack
The Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi chapter, and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Association, Sindh, have condemned the attack on Dr Arain and urged the government to ensure safety and security of doctors and paramedical staff at the JPMC.
PMA general-secretary Dr Samrina Hashmi said the government should not turn a blind eye towards such incidents of hooliganism taking place at different public sector hospitals. She said a conductive environment for doctors, patients and their attendants at all government hospital be ensured by improving the diagnostic and treatment facilities and providing more skilled hands to the health care facilities.
Dr Agha Javed Pathan of the PMDA said that he had talked to the JPMC executive director on the issue. He said he would investigate the matter on Tuesday, adding that manhandling of doctors was a highly condemnable act. He called for measures to protect doctors and other hospital staff from such attacks.
Director transferred
JPMC director Dr Seemi Jamali, who was also in-charge of the emergency and casualty section and served the hospital for about 17 years, has been transferred to the Federal Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, according to a source.
