LAHORE, May 3: The Young Doctors Association’s Punjab chapter has once again come up with a protest plan, citing failure to reach an agreement with the government on service structure.

The YDA and the government representatives convened several meetings on the issue after a week-long strike of the young doctors last month. The YDA leaders would announce schedule and mode of protest on Friday (today).

The decision of agitation was taken at the YDA Punjab general council meeting in which the participants protested ‘bureaucratic attitude’ of senior government officials who were tasked with resolving the matter.

Although both sides settled the matter of ‘controversial’ transfers/postings of the young doctors, the issue of service structure could not be resolved.

The young doctors had observed a week-long strike in April to protest transfer of their colleagues and delay in settlement of service structure for all cadres.

Dr Mudasar Razzaq Khan, a YDA representative, told Dawn on Thursday that the association had called off the strike on April 19 when Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique and Health Secretary Arif Nadeem had publicly announced that the government was serious in meeting their legitimate demands.

“Rana Sana at a press conference on April 19 at 90 Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam had announced that a committee would be constituted by the chief minister within three to four days to furnish recommendations for the service structure for doctors,” Dr Mudasar said.

He said the committee was supposed to be consisted of the secretaries of health, law, finance, prosecution and regulation departments besides two members each from the YDA Punjab and the Pakistan Medical Association, Punjab and one from the Medical Teachers Association, Punjab.

Dr Mudasar said Rana Sana had also announced at that time (in the presence of YDA representatives) that the committee would furnish recommendations within four weeks of its constitution.

“Since then we are in contact with the minister and other representatives of the government but no committee has been constituted despite a lapse of two weeks,” he said while accusing the government of deliberately delaying the issue.

As for the transfer of medical officers and postgraduate trainees, he said a committee was constituted on April 19 during a meeting between the YDA and the government officials. The health department cancelled all controversial transfers except those of MOs and PGs of the four teaching hospitals -- Jinnah Hospital, Services Hospital, Bahawal Victoria Hospital (Bahawalpur) and Nishtar Hospital (Multan).

Dr Mudassar expressed hope that the transfer of the doctors of these four medical institutions also would be resolved in the days to come.