Health authorities remove Punjab Institute of Cardiology MS after young doctors’ protest
LAHORE: The health authorities surrendered the services of Punjab Institute of Cardiology Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Shoaib Aslam to the health secretariat, allegedly succumbing to the pressure of the protesting Young Doctors Association (YDA) after a week-long closure of the institute and making the MS a scapegoat.
The young doctors and paramedics had shut down the hospital a week back in protest against the alleged interference of the PIC Board of Management (BoM) chairman in the institute’s internal affairs.
An official source told Dawn the tension had escalated when a physical brawl took place involving YDA Punjab leader Dr Muhammad Ijaz, serving as a senior registrar at the PIC and assistant professor Dr Zeeshan Ghous at the Cath Lab of the hospital.
He said Dr Ghous was reportedly backed by PIC Chairman Prof Dr Farqad Alamgir while Dr Ijaz had backing of his association. Following the exchange of harsh words between the two sides, the health department had surrendered the services of both these doctors to the health secretariat on Jan 28.
On Tuesday, the official said, the Punjab health secretary removed PIC MS Dr Muhammad Shoaib Aslam, a decision which irked many teachers of the institute as they were of the view that the MS had nothing to do with the agitation. They believed that the health secretary, minister and newly appointed executive director of the institute were equally responsible for the unrest at the hospital as they were just ‘enjoying’ their positions rather than resolving the serious issue.
Hospital remains shut for a week; tension escalated after a brawl between YDA leader and senior teacher
The official said the ‘political polarisation’ in the largest public sector cardiac institute of Lahore had brought the administrative affairs and health service to a standstill, escalating tension to the extent that the grouping in the medics led to the strong agitation which lasted for seven days.
He added that one of the major demands of the YDA was the removal of the BoM chairman Prof Alamgir as, they alleged, he was not only interfering in the hospital’s affairs but also dividing the medics.
Quoting some senior medical teachers of the institute, he said, a hospital designated for the cardiac patients could not afford such protests even for a few hours which was evident from the official figures that showed that nearly 30 patients were brought to the PIC daily with severe heart attacks for major emergency surgeries. The delay of treatment of these critical patients even for a few minutes could endanger their lives. The official said that nearly 1,000 heart patients visited the PIC and many of them used to come from other parts of Punjab.
As a result of the closure and the protest, a majority of procedures of the heart attack patients were suspended or postponed, putting their lives at grave risk, the official said and added that the YDA men went to all the wards, sections and even operating theatres, forcing the doctors and the staff to close the services and join their agitation, ignoring serious risks to the cardiac patients.
There were reports that angiography, angioplasty and other such procedures were performed on more than 150 patients daily and a majority of them were denied these services, following the YDA’s agitation. Similarly, the outpatient department (OPD) was completely shut down while echocardiography of hardly very few patients was performed during the week-long protest, making them most affected among others.
There are reports that the YDA leaders and the paramedics on Tuesday were given an assurance by the health authorities that they would withdraw the orders of the transfer of Dr Ijaz.
BoM chairman Prof Alamgir rejected the allegations of the YDA, saying he had assumed charge of the top position to improve the standards of treatment for the heart patients. He said the PIC was facing multiple challenges for the last one decade and one of the major leading issues was associated with the postgraduate trainee doctors. He said that the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) had recommended for the PGRs to work 72 hours per week, including emergency duties while the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had approved 82 hours per week for them.
Unfortunately, he said, they were blatantly violating the recommended time and using various tactics as many of them were working at the private clinics or hospitals, reducing the time to 36 hours per week. Consequently, the sufferings of the patients increased manifold as most of the PGRs used to complete the 72 hours requirement at the end of the semester.
“I took up the challenge and brought a system for the PGRs to complete the recommended hours,” he said.
In response to these efforts, the YDA launched vigorous campaigns against him to defame him, the PIC BoM chairman alleged, adding that they also blamed him of dividing the medics and making undue interference in the hospital’s affairs.
Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2025
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