PESHAWAR, Dec 12: Critically-ill patients suffered as some 300 trainee medical officers of teaching hospitals in the city refused to provide emergency care on Monday. The trainees who have been on a partial strike since Friday, are demanding an increase in their stipends and better hostel accommodation.

The strike is being observed at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and the Lady Reading Hospital. They said that their colleagues in other provinces were being paid Rs10,000 as a monthly stipend, but they were given only Rs6,000.

A visit to the three teaching hospitals showed that the number of operations had decreased by almost 50 per cent. Likewise, the number of patients visiting OPDs had also declined. The TMOs, who were performing evening and night duties, in addition to work in morning shifts, had created a big vacuum at the hospitals.

Senior surgeons and physicians told reporters that they were facing problems because of the TMO strike as they were vital for running day-to-day affairs of the wards, operation theatre and emergency departments in the absence of senior doctors.