LAHORE: The strike of a faction of young doctors at the Mayo Hospital has almost died out after the health department appointed new medics and terminated several ‘absentees’ including nurses for not heeding the warning.

On Friday, 35 doctors including women medical officers joined the Mayo Hospital and replaced the striking doctors, an official told Dawn.

He said the health department issued the same day termination letters to 11 nurses and also sent some others to the disposal of primary and secondary health department for their posting to the peripheries for joining the strike of young doctors.

35 join hospital, many shown the door

The department also took action against Dr Hannan, one of the most vocal activists of the young doctors of Mayo Hospital, and sent him to the disposal of the primary and secondary health department. He was held responsible for instigating his colleagues into joining the strike, closure of OPD and emergency of the hospital, the official said.

In a related development, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif constituted a high-powered committee to seek reports on a daily basis about the strike of young doctors. Headed by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, the committee comprises Adviser to Chief Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique, Parliamentary Secretary on Health Khwaja Imran Nazir and secretaries of both health departments.

The CM directed the committee to report him twice daily about the strike of young doctors and the action being taken by the departments against them for not resuming duties.

The official said in yet another major decision to steer the hospital out of the crisis, the health department appointed KEMU Institute of Ophthalmology Principal Prof Dr Asad Aslam chief executive of Mayo.

A notification was also issued directing Prof Asad to keep close liaison with the medical superintendent and the vice chancellor of the KEMU to bring about improvement in the country’s oldest hospital.

He said the hospital’s OPD and indoor services had been made fully functional as many

doctors resumed duties on Friday after warning letters were issued to them by the health department.

Out of the 30 ‘striking doctors’, 25 joined the duty, he said and added that those still occupying The Mall would also get termination letters.

Published in Dawn November 12th, 2016