RAWALPINDI: Young Doctors Association (YDA) on Saturday closed the outdoor patient department (OPD) of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) in protest against the Punjab government for not releasing salaries to the house officers and postgraduate trainees on time.

Hundreds of patients visiting the hospital particularly its Outdoor Patient Department suffered because of the strike by junior doctors. However, doctors were available at the emergency department and checking patients.

A senior official of the BBH said the finance department did not issue a letter to the bank concerned on time due to which the doctors could not receive the pays. He said two banks were handling the salaries of young doctors and senior doctors separately. The senior doctors and other staff received their salaries on time but that of the junior doctors were not released by the bank concerned on time.

YDA says more than 400 house officers and postgraduate trainees are not being paid salaries on time

YDA BBH chapter President Dr Humayun Warraich told Dawn that for many months more than 400 house officers and postgraduate trainees had not been getting their salaries on time. They get the pays very late, sometimes even after a month due to negligence of the health department and the local administration.

He said young doctors at the District Headquarters Hospital and Holy Family Hospital were getting salaries on time, but the young doctors at the BBH had been facing a lot of problems for the last many months.

He said that the issue was taken up with the concerned authorities but they failed to address it. Young doctors were working day and night but they were not provided salaries on time while other staff of the hospital was getting salaries on time.

He said the YDA had decided to close the OPD on Saturday while doctors provided medical care to patients in the emergency department.

“We do not want to create problems for patients but want to highlight our issue as doctors depend on their salaries and have no other means to run their household budgets,” he said.

Dr Waraich said irregular payment of salaries to doctors had also become an issue in Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and other cities and YDA would devise a joint plan of action next week.

When contacted, BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Tahir Rizvi said the salaries could not be paid to young doctors on time due to some problem all over the province. He said the finance department had been informed about the issue. He said other staff of the hospital received their salaries a day ago, adding the young doctors would also get their salaries soon.

The MS said the doctors had been requested to join the OPD which was accepted by them. They will not boycott the OPD or the emergency department on Monday, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2024