LAHORE: Young doctors registered a strong protest on Tuesday across the province by blocking several major roads to press the government to accept their legitimate demands.

In Lahore, hundreds of young doctors from all teaching hospitals took to the streets. They gathered on the call of the Punjab Young Doctors Association (YDA) that had issued a protest schedule, alleging the bureaucracy had forced them to take such an extreme step. The association also alleged that some senior officials in the health department were deliberately delaying implementation of the service structure that had been finalised by all stakeholders two and a half years ago.

Take a look: YDA protests delay in service structure

They also held Adviser to the Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique responsible for the differences between the Punjab administration and the young doctors, saying he was the only government representative who had attended all “crucial meetings” when the service structure was finalised.

The YDA was of the view that Rafique did not play a decisive role in materialising their demands. The protesting doctors also included in the list of demands immediate removal of the adviser from his position.

Heeding the protest call, the young doctors withdrew their services in the morning, locked several departments of all teaching hospitals and marched on roads. Doctors from Lahore General and Children’s hospitals blocked Ferozepur Road and their colleagues from Mayo, Sir Ganga Ram and Punjab Dental hospitals gathered on The Mall to protest. Similarly, the Lahore Canal was blocked by doctors from Jinnah and Shaikh Zayed hospitals, while Jail Road was blocked by those from Services Hospital and the Punjab Institute of Cardiology.

Allege senior health officials deliberately delaying service structure

The daylong blockade of major arteries of the provincial capital caused a great deal of inconvenience to motorists and patients. Only patients in critical condition were attended to at emergency departments of government hospitals.

All major state-run hospitals wore a deserted look as YDA members had locked several departments, including outpatient departments, operation theatres and diagnostic units. Patients were either asked to revisit or referred to private health facilities. However, operations were performed at emergency departments only.

Addressing the protest rallies, YDA senior leader Dr Amir Bandesha said the young doctors had held several meetings with high-ranking officials of the Punjab government in the wake of a 37-day strike observed in 2012. He said the service structure draft had been finalised in a series of “vital” meetings that was signed by parliamentarians, representatives of doctors’ associations, secretaries of government departments and the chief minister.

“The CM had promised to fulfil all demands within a few months, but they were still pending despite a lapse of over two years,” Dr Bandesha said.

He said YDA leaders raised the issue again in the last few meetings with senior officials of the health department recently, but to no avail.

A delegation of YDA had met the health secretary on Monday. “But the officials were reluctant to accept our demands according to the service structure,” Dr Bandesha claimed.

He announced that the young doctors would continue their agitation until their demands were accepted. He said the next schedule of the protest would be announced later.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play