SIALKOT: Doctors and paramedics of Allama Iqbal Memorial teaching Hospital continued their strike for the second consecutive day on Saturday, kept treatment of patients at outpatient departments suspended and locked hospital gates.

Doctors set up a hunger strike camp on hospital’s premises seeking registration of a case and arrest of the people who thrashed doctors and nurses at the trauma centre on Thursday.

Even though doctors said they treated patients at the emergency ward but the fact is they kept the hospital gates closed.

The hospital did not treat patients on Friday too as the family of deceased Faraz Zeeshan (12), who died at the trauma centre, beat up doctors alleging their slackness killed the boy. Doctors say the boy was brought to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and their hours-long efforts could not save him.

Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Farooq Iqbal said that despite the passage of two days, the police were reluctant to register the case. He said the hospital management had already submitted an application with the police station for the registration of the case.

When contacted, the local police officials said that no application had submitted by the hospital management for the the case.

Dr Iqbal failed to provide the copy of the application. Indoor patients in the hospital suffered ordeals as doctors and paramedics did not treat them either.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019