RAWALPINDI: In response to a strike call given by Grand Health Alliance, young doctors and paramedics on Friday boycotted outpatient departments (OPDs) of the three government-run hospitals in protest against implementation of Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Reforms Act 2018.

They, however, did not withdraw their services from dengue wards and emergency departments but threatened that they would not attend patients at these departments too if Punjab government refused to meet their demands.

YDA Punjab gave the strike call across the province in collaboration with Grand Health Alliance.

The young doctors and nurses withdrew services from wards and refused to attend OPDs.

The strike created problems for the patients at the government-run hospitals. Though the administration managed to bring senior doctors to OPDs, they attended patients only for an hour.

MTI Reforms Act has failed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, associations president says

However, doctors and nurses attended dengue patients as per routine.

Young Doctors Association (YDA) Rawalpindi President Dr Rana Mohammad Azeem told Dawn that the Grand Health Alliance had decided to withdraw doctors’ services from OPDs but they would remain present at dengue wards.

He said YDA believed that MTI Reforms Act 2018 was against patients, doctors and the employees of the hospitals.

He said the MTI Reforms Act has been implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but it failed.

He said people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were protesting against it ever since it was enforced and patients were coming to Punjab for free treatment. If MTI is implemented in Punjab, where will the patients from Punjab go,” he said.

He said there was no job security in the MTI system as everyone would be on contract and could lose job on the orders of the board of governors’ head.

He said services at emergency departments had not been withdrawn.

On the other hand, patients visiting OPDs of the three hospitals had to return because of the strike.

“Patients had to bear the brunt of the dispute between doctors and government as neither the healthcare facility was available at the hospitals nor medicines,” said Mohammad Akbar, a resident of Arya Mohallah, while visiting Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

He said the poor had no option but to go to private clinics. He said price hike has already made the lives of the people difficult and the increased cost of medicines forced them to come to govt hospital.

Naveed Akhtar, a resident of Satellite Town, who was visiting Holy Family Hospital, said he had brought his mother to the hospital as she was complaining of hypertension. However, he said the OPD was closed and no doctor was available.

He said if the hospital is not meant for the patients then it should be closed down.

“The government gets money in shape of taxes but in return, gives nothing,” he said.

When contacted, Rawalpindi Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer said in the absence of young doctors the managements of the three hospitals had deputed senior doctors in the OPDs.

However, he appreciated young doctors for not withdrawing their services from dengue wards, saying it was a national duty to provide medical care to patients suffering from dengue virus.

He said he had requested the doctors to postpone the strike until the epidemic came to an end in the region.

He said senior doctors and professors were asked to perform duties in OPDs, if young doctors continued their strike in the coming days and in this regard a proper plan had been prepared.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2019