LAHORE: The nursing staff extended their protest from Jinnah Hospital to other teaching institutions and abandoned their work to exert pressure on the government for an action against the doctor allegedly involved in misbehaving with their colleague.

Jinnah nurses had started agitation a week ago when their junior colleague complained to the institute management that an on-duty doctor had misbehaved with her. They demanded immediate suspension of the doctor besides an action against him according to the law.

On Monday, the nurses of all major state-run hospitals left their work in protest and refused to resume duties till an action against the ‘guilty doctor’.

On the call of the Young Nurses Association, Punjab, the nursing staff’s day long agitation created a lot of issues for the hospital management as well as the patients.

Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique and Health Director General Dr Zahid Pervaiz faced an embarrassment when they reached Jinnah Hospital to resolve the issue but the nurses showed their distrust on them.

In the very initial stage of the negotiations, representatives of the nursing staff held Khwaja Salman and the health DG equally responsible for delay in action against the ‘guilty doctor’, an admin official of the hospital told this reporter.

He said both the visiting officials faced a tough time by the protesting nurses who refused to talk to them on the matter.

He said later both the government representatives returned hopeless.

YNA President Rozina Manzoor announced that they would continue their protest till an action against the doctor. They warned of a province-wide agitation if the government further delayed action.

Published in Dawn, November 25th , 2014