OPD strike on third day: Patients continue to suffer as strike continues in OPDs

LAHORE: The young doctors and medical staff’s strike in the out-patient departments (OPDs) in public sector hospitals across Punjab entered a third day on Saturday against privatisation of hospitals under the Punjab Medical Teaching Institutions (Reforms) Ordinance 2019.On the call of Grand Health Alliance (GHA), the young doctors, young consultants, nurses, paramedical staff, allied health professionals and all healthcare associations boycotted the elective services, including outdoor, operation theatres, radiological and pathological services in mega teaching institutions, including Mayo Hospital, Services Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Lahore, Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore as well as other districts across the province.Though the authorities claimed provision of health facilities at the OPDs with the help of consultants and administrative doctors, the miseries of the poor patients are continuously increasing due to lack of healthcare services in outdoor wards and operation theatres in hospitals of Punjab. Many patients have to go to private hospitals for elective procedures, which puts extra financial burden on the poor patients.Young Doctors Association (YDA) arranged conventions at teaching hospitals across the province to highlight the “negative effects” of the legislation, which according to them, would be damaging the cause of healthcare providers and the poor patients. Rejecting the act, doctors warned the government of dire consequences if it decided to go ahead with the implementation of MTI Act.Meanwhile, a representative delegation of GHA also called on Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi who assured them that he would help address their concerns vis-à-vis the MTI (Reforms) Act 2019.The GHA announced continuation of the OPDs strike and warned the government of extending strike to indoor wards if the “anti-healthcare legislation” was not withdrawn.It is worth mentioning that, while the government continues to propagate “all is well” in hospitals without considering the hardships facing the poor patients, no efforts were made to engage the Grand Health Alliance and bring all the stakeholders on the table to negotiate a mutually agreed way out to solve the issue.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2VDqQk7