KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) expressed its concern on Thursday over growing incidents of violence against medical fraternity and healthcare facilities and asked the Sindh government to formally make the healthcare commission functional, which had powers to take care of public complaints against doctors and put an end to violence directed against healthcare professionals.

“Violence against [the] medical fraternity is on the rise, which has created immense sense of insecurity among us,” said Dr Shoukat Malik, president of the PMA Karachi, while addressing a press conference at PMA House.

Mentioning a recent case of violence, Dr Malik said a child with some serious ailment was taken to a hospital in the Dhoraji locality.

“The doctor on duty advised admission of the child and the child was admitted to the ICU of the hospital and the family deposited an amount of Rs5,000. After two days the accounts department asked for more money, but instead of paying the money a few people attacked the facility, manhandled doctors and staff, threatened them with dire consequences, recorded the whole episode on a mobile phone and then uploaded it on social media,” he said.

He said the PMA’s first point of concern was that Pakistan had highest birth rate in the region and one of the poorest healthcare systems.

“It is the responsibility of the government to provide quality healthcare facilities for children to deal with such kind of emergencies. Besides, hooliganism at hospitals is not acceptable, but, unfortunately, it has become a routine practice,” said the PMA official.

Dr Qaisar Sajjad, secretary general, PMA Centre, said people routinely attacked hospitals, misbehaved with doctors and paramedics and even physically beat them.

“In many incidents, hospital properties get damaged as well.”

Dr Sami Ahmed, general secretary of the Private Hospitals and Clinics Association, said it was responsibility of the government to provide security to hospitals and healthcare providers.

The PMA officials said the Sindh government had already passed a healthcare commission bill after the PMA’s efforts. Subsequently, they added, the Sindh Healthcare Commission had been established and its chairman, CEO, directors and other staff had also been appointed more than a year ago.

“But neither, these officials are provided with suitable places to establish the offices of the commission, nor the government has released the allocated funds,” said Dr Sajjad.

He said it appeared that the government did not want to provide healthcare facility to the public and was not interested in seeing the healthcare commission functioning.

They said that the commission was a proper forum to address the issues related to peoples’ grievances against doctors and hospitals and similarly ensure security to the medical fraternity.

Once the commission began working, they added, several other issues being faced by the healthcare system, including quackery, patient rights, and doctors’ rights could also be duly taken care of.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017