LAHORE: Politicians and doctors on Sunday started protesting against the Punjab government for shifting two departments of the Nishtar Hospital Multan to Tertiary Care Hospital Nishtar-II, Shujabad.

A notification by the Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department secretary, available with Dawn, states that Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurosurgery units of the hospital are being shifted to Tertiary Care Hospital Nishtar-II, Multan.

“The Vice Chancellor, Nishtar Medical University, Multan is directed to make necessary arrangements to relocate/shift the both wards/units i.e. Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurosurgery from Nishtar Hospital, Multan to Tertiary Care Hospital Nishtar-II, Multan,” it states.

PPP Punjab Assembly parliamentary leader Syed Ali Haider Gilani, in a press conference at the Multan Press Club, opposed the move and rejected the notification. Accompanied by MPAs Malik Wasif Mazhar Raan, Rana Iqbal Siraj and Kamran Abdullah Marral, Gilani said although they were allies of the PML-N government, there were still differences between the parties. He said the people of south Punjab had given a strong mandate to the PPP and they would not allow injustice against them.

VC claims wards in old hospital won’t be shut; doctors to be called back after posting of new medics at Shujabad hospital

Mr Gilani further mentioned that the operating theaters at the Nishtar II were not yet functional, and the transfer of both departments there would be hard. He said they reserved the right to protest against the Punjab government for the unfair treatment. He urged Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to visit Multan and review the facilities at Nishtar I and Nishtar II.

Earlier, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) of Multan and the South Punjab Medical Forum held a protest at the Nishtar along with doctors against the shifting of the neurosurgery and orthopedics departments.

During the protest, speeches were made by Dr Mazhar Ali Chaudhry, Dr Mian Adnan, Dr Yasir Zaidi, Dr Nusrat Buzdar, Dr Nadeem Qaisrani, Dr Ashfaq Siddiqui, Dr Syed Ahmad Shah, Dr Salman Lashari and Mazhar Abbas Kaat.

The protesters claimed that the transfer of the departments from the Nishtar Hospital was an injustice to the students, the public and the doctors of these departments. They argued that separate doctors should be appointed at Nishtar Hospital II and that closing these departments at Nishtar Hospital would not only affect the patients but also create difficulties for emergency services, research work and patients admitted to other wards.

Dr Lashari told Dawn the Nishtar-II was being converted from a general hospital to Neuro Trauma Hospital. He said the Punjab government was shifting the funds of the Seraiki region to Lahore and there was a big need for another general hospital and medical college in the region.

He said the government was transferring seats of doctors as well as wards to Nishtar-II and no one was explaining the situation.

The YDA Multan and the South Punjab Medical Forum also held a meeting with Nishtar Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mehnaz Khakwani in her office.

The VC said these departments would not be completely shut down at Nishtar Hospital I and added that the doctors would be appointed at Nishtar II under its sanctioned new establishment (SNE), and then the doctors from Nishtar I would be called back.

Ms Khakwani told Dawn that the units/wards were not being shifted completely as they would also remain functional at Nishtar-I. She claimed they were giving support to Nishtar-II to make it functional and there was a misconception that these wards would be closed at Nishtar-I. She said the capacity of the wards at Nishtar-I would be half after the shifting and no patient would be denied treatment.

The VC said that the government could further increase the capacity of the wards in question at Nishtar-I in the future.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024