RAWALPINDI, March 12: A strike staged by house officers of District Headquarters Hospital continued for the second day on Wednesday, however the administration managed to avoid the hospital operations from coming to a standstill.

Though the administration has so far been successful in keeping the hospital working, the situation is reportedly critical.

As many as 48 doctors are demanding better security arrangements at the hospital and a more considerate attitude by the relatives of patients visiting the hospital for treatment.

The strike started late Tuesday night when house officers and paramedical staff in the emergency ward were manhandled by the relatives of an expired patient, Abdul Islam.

Abdul Islam, a cardiac patient, was referred to the hospital from a private clinic in serious condition.

He was pronounced dead by the doctors on arrival, but the relatives accused the doctors of deliberately not treating the patient.

A scuffle between the doctors and the relatives of the deceased ensued in which the on-duty doctors sustained injuries.

The house officers following the incident went on strike and are still not ready to resume their duty despite appeals by the hospital administration.

The doctors claim that the administration has repeatedly failed to provide adequate security cover, which is evident from a murder in the hospital’s operation theatre in last December.

The doctors said they had to work under difficult circumstances, particularly considering the location of the hospital, due to which their personal security was always at risk.

The hospital management committee held an emergency meeting on Wednesday and decided to beef up security by hiring private guards.

The committee finalized a contingency plan for avoiding any disruption in the working of hospital.

It was further decided at the meeting to pressurize the strikers through their concerned heads of departments to call off the strike.

When asked to comment on the incident, the medical superintendent, Dr Zubair Hassan, said the incident was regrettable, but the subsequent strike by the house officers was also unfortunate.

He said the administration was taking every possible steps to ensure the security of the doctors. The incident has been reported to the police, who have registered a case against 24 people and so far arrested one of the accused, he added.

Dr Hassan appealed to the public to observe restraint and be considerate while dealing with perplexing situations in the hospitals.

He reiterated the commitment of the administration to keep the emergency ward of the hospital functional.