RAWALPINDI, March 15: The house officers of District Headquarters Hospital ended their strike after negotiations with the administration, officials said on Saturday.

The doctors had gone on strike last Tuesday, following a scuffle with some people who accused them of negligence which led to their patient’s death. The 48 doctors, observing the strike, had been asking for better security arrangements, and considerate attitude by the patients and their attendants.

The administration enhanced the security by seeking additional police guards for the emergency ward. However, the doctors were not satisfied with the arrangements and called for presence of armed guards. The hospital administration sought assistance of police high-ups, who agreed to provide armed guards.

Once this demand was met, the doctors called for changing the uniform of paramedics. They wanted the administration to ban the paramedics from wearing white coats. This demand was also accepted.

The doctors also sought a copy of the FIR, which was provided to them by the hospital administration. They accused the administration of deliberately delaying the registration of the FIR. However, the administration denied this, and said their case was strongly pursued.

The administration managed to keep the hospital functional during the strike by manoeuvring the available strength.

Medical Superintendent Dr Zubair Hassan, talking to this reporter after the negotiations, thanked the doctors for calling off the strike.

He appealed to the patients and their attendants to realize the limitations of the doctors and to be considerate while dealing with them.