RAWALPINDI: Health services were paralysed in the city on Saturday as young doctors in the three government hospitals staged protests outside their premises against Medical Teaching Institute (MTI) Reforms Act 2018.

Later, over 500 young doctors from all the three hospitals gathered at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) on Murree Road and blocked the road for two hours, causing inconvenience to motorists and patients.

The protesters, led by Young Doctors Association (YDA) BBH President Dr Rana Azeem, Dr Sarmad from the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital and Dr Malik Shehr Yar from the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) were holding placards and banners and chanting slogans for acceptance of their demands.

They burnt tyres and staged a sit-in on the road.

They also chanted slogans against Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

They said the government was privatising hospitals and introducing higher fee for pathological tests. They said patients and doctors would suffer under the new law.

Due to the strike, more than 3,000 patients, especially those who had come to the outdoor patient departments (OPDs), suffered a lot.

The hospital officials said many patients went back without getting treatment as doctors on house job refused to attend them.

However, they said, emergency departments continued functioning as the administrations of the hospitals had called senior doctors.

Rawalpindi Medical University Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Umer along with senior doctors visited wards at the Holy Family Hospital and asked the professors to remain there and check patients. However, after his visit the professors disappeared.

When contacted, Young Doctors Association (YDA) BBH President Dr Rana Azeem said the health department had failed to listen to the problems of doctors.

He said doctors and paramedical staff did not want to create problems for patients but they were forced to protest for their demands.

He said the demand to repeal the MTI Reforms Act should be fulfilled otherwise the doctors would withdraw services from dengue wards from Monday (tomorrow).

“We already have given a 48 hours’ deadline to the administration to meet our demand otherwise we will withdraw services from the dengue wards.

“A complete strike will be observed in the next 72 hours,” he said.

He said the health department had formed a committee to listen to the grievances of the doctors and health professionals but so far the committee could not hold a single meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2019