MIRPURKHAS: Delivery of health services at the Mirpurkhas Civil Hospital remained suspended on Tuesday when doctors and paramedics — embroiled in an alleged sexual harassment episode — observed a strike against each other.

The situation left several hundred in-house and visiting patients without any medical services while delivery of medicines to needy patients also could not take place.

A complete mess was observed as striking doctors and paramedics came face to face raising slogans against each other.

The protest ended only after the health secretary intervened by directing the director general of health services at Hyderabad, Dr Akhlaque Ahmed Khan, to bring an end to the mess.

Dr Khan sent a team comprising four senior doctors to the hospital to mediate in the matter. After hours of negotiations, the embattled sides agreed to end the protest on the promise that a fair inquiry would be held into the sexual harassment allegation and the report would be submitted to the health secretary within the next 15 days.

A day earlier, a group of nurses along with some outsiders thrashed and injured a doctor (an anaesthetist) in the operating theatre at the hospital for alleged sexual harassment of some of their female co-workers.

The video of the thrashing episode went viral on the social media and was widely aired by private TV channels.

The nurses claimed that the doctor had sexually harassed a staff nurse a few days back and on her complaint he was transferred to Karachi by civil surgeon Dr Iqbal Bhurgari until an inquiry constituted by him reached a conclusion. The doctor, however, somehow managed to get himself reposted at the hospital.

The nurses involved in the thrashing of the doctor alleged that he again resorted to indulging in sexual harassment of nurses. They observed a strike on Tuesday when doctors threw their weight behind the anaesthetist and boycotted their duties to protest nurses’ attack on him.

Pakistan Medical Association reportedly supported the doctors while the paramedical association took the side of nurses in the matter.

The committee set up by the DG health services held separate negotiations with the two sides and persuaded them to end the protest.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2018