MULTAN, Jan 25: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Multan chapter, has announced shutting all public hospitals in the Multan district on Wednesday (today) in protest against the alleged manhandling of Nishtar Hospital doctors by the attendants of a woman patient.

Attendants rejected the allegations as fabricated and said doctors had tortured them when they protested their rude attitude.

Rafaqat, an attendant of Sakina Bibi who is admitted to ward No7 of Nishtar Hospital, told reporters Dr Shehla pestered him to go to market and bring medicines.

He said that when he asked the doctor to tell him all the medicines in one prescription, she got annoyed, called her colleagues and tortured him.

Refuting the allegations, PMA officials said the doctors were beaten by the attendants and Dr Zubair suffered a nose fracture.

PMA President Dr Shahid Rao said they would stay away from work in outpatient departments and operation theaters of all public hospitals in the Multan district. The PMA demanded a case against the attendants and provision of security to doctors and warned that emergency wards would be shut if the government did not accept their demands.

Cantonment police said they had yet to receive any complaint from either side.

Nishtar Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Zaffar Niazi said the strike call was violation of the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act (PEEDA Act), 2006, but no action would be taken against them.

He said the hospital administration had several times asked the police authorities to establish a police post on the hospital premises.

Nishtar Medical College Principal Dr Laiq Siddiqi said that action under PEEDA Act could only be taken against individuals.

He said it was also not possible for the administration to take action against the representatives of doctors who called the strike and even explanation could not be called from them.