LAHORE: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) Tuesday staged protest rallies yet again against postgraduate induction policy in the provincial metropolis as well as across the province.
According to details, doctors shut down outpatient departments (OPDs) at city six major government hospitals and other government hospitals of the province, which created problems for patients.
While raising slogans against authorities concerned, protesters said that the government did not take them on board before imposing the central induction policy. They said that the central induction policy announced by the provincial government was preventing doctors from gaining higher education.
The protesters said that the cruel central induction policy imposed on the young doctors by the Punjab government was tantamount to usurp the rights of young doctors. They vowed to continue protest until their demands are not met.
Meanwhile, hundreds of patients who had come from far-flung areas suffered as outpatient departments (OPDs) at the six major government-run hospitals remained close owing to the protest of young doctors. Patients and their attendants felt extremely disappointed when they had to return without treatment, while several others had to take their patients to private hospitals.
On the other hand, Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Kh Salman Rafique has appreciated the doctor’s community, vice chancellors and principals of medical universities/colleges and medical superintendents of teaching hospitals for smooth working of outdoor patients departments and providing treatment facilities to the thousands of patients. He said that doctors’ community had upheld the dignity and honour of medical profession by rejecting the strike call.
He also thanked the doctors’ community, principals and medical superintendents of teaching hospitals for making arrangements to ensure smooth functioning of OPDs and provision of medical treatment to the patients. He said that it was praiseworthy that the young doctors, teaching faculty and consultants performed their duties.
Secretary SH&ME Najam Ahmed Shah said that vice chancellors and principals of medical universities and colleges were fully empowered to run their institutions in a befitting manner. He said that government would provide full support to the administration of the medical institutions/hospitals for maintaining law and order in their institutions and smooth functioning of the hospitals. He said that whatever disciplinary action under the law would be taken by the administration or disciplinary committees against the miscreants, the department would fully endorse it. He said no laxity would be tolerated in provision of quality healthcare to the people.
