GILGIT: The health professionals staged a protest sit-in here on Monday to demand provision of PPEs and availability of facilities for treatment of Covid-19 patients in hospitals.

The protesters announced to continue their protest till acceptance of their demands.

Gilgit-Baltistan Grand Health Alliance had called the protest.

About 400 nurses, paramedical staff and doctors from all the districts of GB gathered outside the district headquarters hospital, Gilgit, and marched towards the Chief Minister’s House in Chinar Bagh, where they staged a sit-in blocking the River Road.

The protesters were wearing masks and holding banners inscribed with their demands.

Ejaz Ayub, former president Young Doctors Association, told Dawn that health professionals from across the region had been protesting for last one week for acceptance of their demands, but the government was unmoved.

He said it was injustice that the health professionals were not being provided incentives like other parts of the country. He said hospitals lacked capacity to treat coronavirus patients.

Another protester said doctors and the paramedics treating the Covid-19 patients in remote areas had no protection gear.

The doctors demanded construction of 100-bed hospitals in every district, payment of salaries to health professionals similar to other parts of the country, payment of incentives announced by Chief minister Hafeezur Rehman, regularisation of all contractual doctors, nurses and paramedics, promotion of health professionals under service structure and security of doctors in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the representatives of Grand Health Alliance met the chief minister to apprise him of their demands.

The chief minister assured them of resolving their issues within two days.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2020