KARACHI, Oct 20: A group of house officers working at the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) on Monday staged a protest demonstration in front of the office of the hospital’s medical superintendent, demanding that their stipends be raised as had been done in other provinces.

Talking to Dawn, Danish Zaidi, one of the protesting officers, said that the Sindh government had not raised the stipend of about 300 house officers working at the CHK, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the Lyari General Hospital (LGH).

“We had not been paid our stipends since August 1 and it was only on Oct 16 that we received a paltry sum of Rs6,210. This is sheer injustice. Our counterparts in Punjab and those working under the federal government are getting Rs12,000 per month. Last year, the Sindh government had raised the stipend of post-graduate officers up to Rs12,000, but there was no raise for house officers working under the Sindh government,” he said, adding: “We have planned a token strike to be observed on Tuesday at CHK.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Karachi chapter, has also expressed its concern over the amount of the stipend being paid to house officers in Sindh. PMA general secretary Dr Samrina Hashmi said that the post-graduate officers in Punjab also got an annual increment of Rs1,000 and the grade-17 officers a non-practicing allowance of Rs4,000 per month, but this was not done in the case of Sindh officers.

“Junior doctors work day and night in unhygienic and insecure conditions at government hospitals. Most of them support their families and pay for their postgraduate exams,” she observed, adding that a lack of monetary support was one of the reasons behind the brain drain in the country.

“This is the reason why youngsters are not coming into the medical profession any more and are forced to work in other fields. PMA Karachi demands implementation of proper career structure for young doctors and increased stipend for house officers. The government of Sindh should look into the matter seriously and implement the new service structure,” she said.