LAHORE: The young doctors of the Services Hospital Lahore on Monday besieged the office of the medical superintendent (MS) to pressurise him into issuing house job completion certificates to 107 doctors of the private hospitals, who had not been acknowledged by a committee constituted for the purpose.

The doctors turned aggressive, used abusive language against MS Dr Munir Ahmad Malik, limiting him to his office for three hours or so.

Because of the YDA ‘protest’, the situation in the hospital remained tense for hours as scores of doctors raised slogans and refused to leave the venue, demanding issuance of the certificates to the 107 medics who completed the six-month house job at the public healthcare facility.

The witnesses say the YDA members blocked all the corridors leading to the MS office, restricting the movement of the patients, their attendants and other visitors.

MS cites court order to defend his stance

The YDA alleged that Dr Munir was deliberately creating hurdles in issuance of the certificates to the doctors despite completion of their house job during which they had been working in various wards of the hospital.

The protesting doctors also interrupted the healthcare services to hundreds of patients when they shut down the out-patient department (OPD) to exert further pressure on the MS.

In a statement issued later, the YDA office-bearers of the Services Hospital chapter also accused some admin officials of demanding bribes for the issuance of certificates.

They also levelled serious allegations of corruption against the MS in the projects for revamp, upgrade and renovation of the hospital.

On the other hand, the MS strongly rejected the allegations of corruption, alleging that the YDA Chapter of the Services Hospital itself has been involved in corruption through getting inducted doctors of private hospitals in the public hospital for PG training and house job.

He claimed that a team of senior administrative officers recently unearthed a “mega scam” of illegal induction of doctors of private hospitals for PG training and house job in the Services Hospital.

Of them, he said, 107 doctors were doing “illegal” house job at various units of the hospital, alleging they had bribed the YDA members for the purpose.

The MS said that in the light of an inquiry, the hospital administration refused to issue them the house job clearance certificate, which annoyed the YDA members. He accuses young doctors of attacking his office to blackmail him.

Dr Malik said a committee headed by a senior medical teacher, Prof Waris Farooqa, was constituted to grant house job permission at the hospital. However, the MS alleged, the YDA officials bypassed this committee and got inducted these 107 medics illegally in connivance with some professors.

He said the committee refused to recommend the names of these 107 doctors of private hospitals for certification by the Services Hospital, being a public sector institute.

“If the committee disowns the induction of these 107 doctors of private hospitals in the Services Hospital, how can MS issue the [house job] certificates”, Dr Malik asked, adding that he would not buckle under any “blackmailing tactics”.

To a question, he said the Supreme Court has already declared the house job by private hospitals’ doctors at the government facilities illegal, and he won’t violate the apex court’s order.

An official of the institute says that Dr Munir Malik was not the only MS who had to face the wrath of the Services Hospital YDA chapter.

Earlier, he says, the YDA had also targeted two other medical superintendents — Dr Ehteshamul Haq and Iftikhar Qureshi — who later wrote letters to the health department about alleged wrongdoings committed by the organisation’s members.

The official regretted that following a row over a patient’s death due to doctors’ negligence, the health authorities had succumbed to the YDA protest and removed Mr Haq as MS to avoid further confrontation with the young doctors. There are reports that the the Services Hospital YDA is flexing muscles for the second round of agitation against Dr Malik for acceptance of their demands.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2024