LAHORE: The paramedics of the Shaikh Zayed Hospital on Thursday opted for ‘inhuman treatment’ towards patients as they threw medical waste in wards, corridors and main entry/exit points of the institute to disrupt patient care.

A group of paramedics had been protesting for the last one week to press the government for disbandment of the Board of Governors and the Shaikh Zayed Board of Trustees.

The group was being led by a dresser, Nasiruddin.

Many surgeries had been postponed during that period while admissions were also being denied as they were not allowing patients to enter the hospital.

Throw medical waste in wards; demand disbandment of BoG, Trust

Though the medical teachers, doctors, nurses and the SZH’s Allied Health Professional Organisation Unit had categorically announced their aloofness from the move, the paramedics vowed to continue with their agitation till acceptance of the demand.

The angry paramedics visited various wards of the hospital on Thursday morning, forced their colleagues to stop duty, locked many sections and staged a sit-in outside the admin block.

The paramedics collected medical waste from the boxes and threw it in wards and corridors of the hospital, some witnesses said.

They said the protesters even did not spare the critical patients under treatment at the intensive care units, cardiac care units, operation theatres as these sensitive areas were also filled with infectious waste.

The paramedics also stopped patients at the entrance to the building claiming that they were observing a strike and no treatment would be allowed during agitation.

The situation turned ‘tense’ when many ‘neutral employees’ of the hospital came to the support of the patients and gathered at the hospital against the protesters.

Later, the Allied Health Professional Organisation Unit of the SZH also intervened and joined the ‘neutral employees’ of the institute for uninterrupted treatment to the patients.

However, the protesters threatened Allied Health Organisation President Abdul Ghafoor Alvi and senior office-bearer Abid Iqbal Bhatti with dire consequences when they tried to help patients for admissions to the hospital.

A group of agitators thrashed some sweepers for removing medical waste from corridors and wards.

The Allied Health Organisation office-bearers also announced launching “Save the Shaikh Zayed Hospital from culprits” move from today (Friday).

Meanwhile, the Young Doctors Association, Pakistan, also condemned the ‘ruthless attitude’ of a group of paramedics and termed their demand illogical and illegal.

“Paramedics of the SZH have adopted a wrong way for a wrong demand since the law of the land does not support disbandment of the trust,” YDAP Secretary General Dr Salman Kazmi said in a statement issued to the media on Thursday.

SZH Chairman Prof Dr Farid Ahmad Khan said he had constituted a committee of senior doctors and admin officials for negotiations with the protesters.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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