PESHAWAR, June 24: NWFP’s paramedics’ association has announced a one-day strike at the three teaching hospitals in the city on June 28 in protest against government’s failure to announce a proper service structure for paramedics.
“Paramedics will observe a complete strike on Tuesday at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex,” Sirajuddin Burki, provincial chief of the Paramedics’ Association (PMA), told reporters here on Saturday.
Paramedics at the city hospitals will wear black arm-bands and hoist banners and placards inscribed with slogans demanding a service structure for themselves.
The decision to call a strike was taken at a meeting here on Friday. Mr Burki said that although the association had tried its best to avoid a confrontation with the government, it was compelled to do so because of the “step-motherly attitude of the government”.
According to him, paramedics along with doctors and nurses formed a tricycle which provided health-care facilities to the people.
Unlike doctors and nurses who had a proper service structure, he said, paramedics were appointed in BPS-6 and retired in the same grade after serving for 30 years. Lack of service structure has been causing problems, observed Mr Burki, “as there are no opportunities for promotion”.
Mr Burki said that paramedics had been struggling for a service structure for long. The MMA government had promised them a service structure, but it had not fulfilled its promise, he said.
“One year ago, the MMA government had said that an additional amount of Rs15 million has been sanctioned for the service structure, but all such promises have proved to be hollow claims and nothing else,” he said.
Mr Burki said that during the strike emergency cover would be provided to all critically-ill patients.
He said that the finance department had sanctioned Rs14.6 million for the service structure, but bureaucrats had been trying to block the move. At present, the finance department is spending Rs45 million on the salaries of 8,680 paramedics per annum in the NWFP.
Whereas in Fata, an additional amount of Rs7.96 million is required for the service structure of 2,103 paramedics, including dispensers, X-ray, ECG and laboratory technicians, and operating theatre and anaesthesia assistants have no service structure and many retire from the service in the same grade in which they are appointed, Mr Burki said.
Paramedics after passing their matriculation examination (science group) complete one-year training at government hospitals in about 10 various disciplines and then they take an examination conducted by the NWFP medical faculty.
After getting through the said examination, they are appointed in Grade-6 and most of them retire in the same grade even after serving for 25 years, he said.