GUJRAT: The administration of Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) has for the first time issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for the media personnel belonging to both print and electronic.

According to the SOP devised and issued by the signatures of medical superintendent Dr Shahid Farooq and principal of Nawaz Sharif Medical College (NSMC) Dr Mirajul Siraj, the journalists, cameramen and photographers cannot be allowed entry into the Outdoor Patients Department (OPD), wards, duty doctor offices, operation theatres, emergency department and laboratory without prior permission of the focal persons.

The hospital administration has deputed deputy medical superintendent Dr Asif Mehmood and senior medical officer Dr Aitzaz Bashir as the focal persons to provide information to journalists.

In case of natural disasters, suicide/bomb attacks the focal persons will provide information through briefings and press releases since the administration think the rush of journalists in emergency department would often make it difficult for health care providers to take proper care and treatment of the patients, hence no one should be allowed to enter the emergency department and hamper the treatment of patients.

Prior permission of ABSTH focal persons required

Similarly, the vehicles of television channels and media personnel will be parked in specified areas [in parking lot] and in case of any violation of the SOP by the media men, necessary legal action will be taken, a notification issued by the hospital administration said.

The local journalist fraternity has lodged a strong protest over the issuance of the SOP, and the newsmen consider it [is] tantamount to undermining the media freedom and working of media professionals.

According to journalists, if any such SOP was required the respective authorities should have talked to the media organisations as such [harsh] restrictions are totally unjustified.

However, NSMC Principal Dr Miraj told Dawn that the SOP had been issued in the wake of some recent incidents of clash between the duty doctors and some media personnel belonging to a new channel who, according to him, had behaved in a non-professional manner.

He said the clash had led to filing of cases against each other that intensified the tension.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2017