KARACHI: Nurses from hospitals in the metropolis and various other districts of Sindh continued their protest outside the Karachi Press Club for a second day on Tuesday pressing for their demands as public sector hospitals admitted the absence of nursing staff had gravely affected their routine operations.

Officials in various hospitals said the healthcare system at public sector facilities was affected a great deal. They said scheduled surgeries were delayed and ward services affected. However, nurses continued to perform their duty in emergency departments as well as intensive-care units.

Representatives of the Joint Nurses Action Committee (JNAC) — a conglomerate of Young Nurses Association, Pakistan Nurses Association and Private School Nursing Association — said the government had not accepted their demands till Tuesday evening.

They said they would stage a rally towards Governor House or Chief Minister House on Wednesday (today) if the stalemate persisted.

During the sit-in, protesters chanted slogans against the health authorities and pressed for their demands.

Aijaz Kaleri of the JNAC told reporters that they had presented their 10 demands to the government.

He warned they could consider the possibility of withdrawing nurses from emergencies and ICUs of government-run hospitals across Sindh if their demands were not met.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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