STAFF REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Health officials have shown no interest in the protest by doctors at the Pakistani capital’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the closure of the outpatient department (OPDs) for the fifteenth day.
The closure of OPDs adds to the sufferings of poor patients who visit the hospitals for treatment from the remote areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi with the hope of getting free medical assistance.
PIMS is the largest public-sector hospital that caters to around four to five thousand patients in the OPD daily. It caters to the patients of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, and many other adjacent areas.
The Federal Health Alliance (FHA) at PIMS said on Monday that no one from the health ministry had paid any visit to address the issue or start talks with them. They have warned that if the problem is not resolved, the protest will get stronger, and, in the future, they will shut down more units of the hospital.
Patients visiting OPDs
It was observed that many patients were visiting the OPDs for treatment of various infections, including influenza, fever, and cough. They wondered why the government was not addressing this issue permanently after every few months, the doctors go on strikes and let the poor people suffer.
On the other hand, the doctors believed they would not call off the strike until their demands were met. They said the officials at the ministry are least bothered about the people.
The FHA is protesting against implementing the Medical Teaching Institute (MTI) Ordinance. They have rejected the promulgation of the MTI ordinance and demanded that the government revoke it immediately.
