KARACHI: A strike called by doctors and paramedics of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) on Thursday sent thousands of patients unattended from the outpatient departments and cancelled scores of surgeries, officials at the hospitals said.

It was termed a ‘sad day’ by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) when treatment was denied to around 5,000 visitors at the JPMC’s OPDs and to around 1,200 children at the NICH.

The strike was called by the Joint Action Committee comprising doctors and paramedics of both hospitals. They were protesting against the delay in the issuance of health allowance (equivalent to one-month basic salary), which the federal government pays its employees.

The employees of the two hospitals had been getting the allowance before they were handed over to the provincial government after the passage of the 18th amendment five years ago.

Officials said not a single scheduled surgery, save for emergencies, was performed in dozens of departments at the JPMC and the situation was very similar at the NICH where doctors were available for emergency surgeries and took care only of those patients in dire need of medical assistance.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2015

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