Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) Punjab took out a rally on The Mall and staged a sit-in demonstration in front of the Governor’s House on Wednesday.
Members of Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also joined the protesters.
YDA office bearers said their hunger strike had entered its 10th day but the Punjab government hadn’t paid any heed to their demands. They said they would continue to fight for the rights of poor patients.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the government had fulfilled its promise of providing service structure for doctors and most of the agreed points had been implemented. He said committees had been formed for implementation of the remaining points. He said these committees were working hard
Rafique was presiding over a meeting which was reviewing the implementation on the agreement on the service structure at the Health Department Committee Room of the Civil Secretariat.
The meeting reviewed point-wise the implementation of service structure.
The participants noted that the clauses of service structure which needed immediate implementation had been implemented.
Rafique said that the committees which had been constituted for the implementation of the points of service structure had submitted their recommendations.
He said that the government was implementing the service structure approved for all cadres of doctors expeditiously.
General Cadre Doctors Association President Dr Masud Sheikh expressed his satisfaction with the Health Department’s efforts for implementing all points of service structure speedily. He said that it was the joint responsibility of doctors to ensure provision of medical facilities to the patients.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2013.