LAHORE, July 5: Patients continued to suffer on Thursday, as the custody of four doctors accused of a child’s murder at Mayo Hospital stalked talks between the Punjab government and the Young Doctors Association (YDA).

Most young doctors did not return to their duties at public hospitals though Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah announced on Wednesday that the Young Doctors Association had called off the strike after an agreement with the government.

Emergencies, indoor and outdoor departments were not fully functional and several major and minor procedures were delayed, sources said. YDA activists continued to ask their colleagues to continue the strike through text messages and social media. In some text messages they said ‘stay home’ or ‘stay away from hospitals’ till the release of all arrested doctors.

On the other hand, the government continued recruitment of ad hoc doctors to make emergencies and OPDs fully functional.

Some government hospitals have recommended appointment of around 600 new medical officers and 20 anaesthetics. The hospitals were directed to recruit new medical officers through ‘walk-in interviews’.

YDA’s stubbornness has put heads of all medical institutions and senior doctors in an awkward situation, as they had given an assurance to the chief minister at Wednesday’s meeting that association leaders had agreed to end the strike.

A source close to the development said even some other ‘influential people’, including a senior journalist and leading orthopaedic surgeon Prof Dr Amir Aziz, tried to convince the YDA to call off the strike, but to no avail.

YDA leaders on Thursday again rejected the mediation offer of heads of medical institutions, senior doctors and medial organisations, saying that only the YDA general council could end the strike.

YDA senior leader Dr Mudasar Razaq Khan told Dawn that principals of some medial colleges held a meeting on Wednesday with the chief minister without taking YDA leaders on board. He said the YDA had conveyed to the Punjab government through the law minister that it would not accept any medial organisation or senior doctors’ decision to call off the strike.

“On behalf of the YDA I had been constantly in contact with Sanaullah for the last two days. Even before and after Wednesday’s meeting between heads of medical institutions and the government the law minister had assured the YDA that all arrested doctors would be released,” Dr Mudasar said. He said the government released the arrested young doctors, but four doctors of Mayo Hospital facing charges of a child’s murder were still in police custody.

“We will resume duties only in emergencies after the government releases the four doctors,” he said, adding the strike at indoor and OPDs would continue at all hospitals of the province till announcement of a service structure for doctors.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said YDA’s decision to continue the strike even after reaching an agreement with the government was ‘beyond understanding’. He said there were legal hitches in the child murder case and police needed time to sort these out. He said heads of some medical colleges had told the chief minister at Wednesday’s meeting that release of arrested doctors as a goodwill gesture would help them convince YDA leaders end the strike.