YDA strike continues: Seven die due to doctors’ apathy

LAHORE, March 30: The Punjab chapter of Young Doctors Association on Wednesday turned hostile towards patients, including those admitted in a critical condition, as they allegedly manhandled and threw several of them out of government hospitals of the provincial capital. As a result seven patients, including five children, died at public hospitals as the doctors refused to attend them. Four-year-old Shahzad died at the Jinnah Hospital emergency as no body allegedly attended him despite requests made by his parents. He suffered head injuries with massive bleeding from his nose and ears and was brought to the infirmary in a critical condition. The only senior doctor, Dr Mohsin, who was present at the emergency, was forced by the YDA office-bearers to leave the department without attending the minor. The child remained unattended for some minutes and breathed his last in the lap of his father. Kiran, 7, of Gujranwala, Hamza, 9, of Shahdara and Rabia, 5, of Faisalabad died outside Children Hospital's emergency. Similarly, three critical patients identified as Nasir of Township, Sughran Bibi of Kahna and seven-year-old Zahid Kamran of Kasur district also died at Lahore General Hospital on Wednesday as doctors at the emergency refused to attend them. Sources said the YDA doctors completely paralysed healthcare services at the major public sector hospitals. They said the YDA leaders, with the 'connivance' of their striking colleagues, had early in the morning locked operation theatres and emergency departments at all the state-run hospitals except the Mayo. Emergency at Punjab Institute of Cardiology was no exception on Wednesday night. The `merciless' doctors even did not spare women, children and elderly people and rejected their repeated appeals for the treatment of their ailing family members and relatives, the witnesses said. Scores of surgeries, this time even gynae operations, were postponed at the city's all major government hospitals as YDA doctors mostly equipped with clubs attacked the on-duty doctors, paramedics and attendants of the patients when they insisted on emergency care. The YDA leaders took round of office of the administrations in all hospitals and threatened them with dire consequences for providing treatment to the patients. They also roughed up senior doctors at Jinnah, Sir Ganga Ram and Services hospitals who later brought the matter to the knowledge of the authorities concerned but no action was taken against the offending medics. The situation remained tense in Jinnah Hospital where two YDA activists were allegedly holding weapons while taking round of the health facility. A senior doctor at Jinnah Hospital requesting not to be named told Dawn that the administration did not take any action when it was informed that two armed doctors were also present in the hospital causing panic among the senior medics as well as patients. Keeping in view the gravity of the situation, Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram declared emergency in the infirmary and cancelled casual and spring leaves of all the staff. He also withdrew security staff from hospital's residential colony, hostels and college and deputed them at all the departments of the health facility to avert frequent attacks of the offending doctors. The security staff at the hospital got arrested two YDA activists Dr Salman and Dr Asad when they attacked lady doctors at gynae emergency department for providing treatment to patients. When contacted, Prof Javed Akram said serious efforts were being made to provide treatment to patients. He said a hurriedly called meeting of AIMC/Jinnah Hospital Academic Council took various decisions to carry out emergency care at the institution. The meeting passed a resolution, condemned the attitude of the young doctors and also appealed to the Punjab government to resolve the issue of pay package. A source said a group of YDA, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital chapter, threw out all the serious patients, including wife of same health facility's acting principal Prof Rasheed Chaudhry, from the operation theatre when senior doctors were about to perform their surgeries on Wednesday morning. One of these patients was under the influence of general anaesthesia and the doctors were ready to operate on him, the source said. The YDA doctors took the unconscious patient on a stretcher and 'dumped' him on the road outside emergency department. "It was unbelievable and extremely cruel attitude of the doctors. They are animals, not human beings," a senior doctor told Dawn while quoting patient's relative Mujahid Ali. Prof Rasheed Chaudhry's wife was admitted to the hospital for over a week and senior doctors had controlled her blood pressure after round-the-clock observation. They took her to the operation theatre on the basis of her diagnostic reports which suggested her stable for surgery. The YDA doctors, however, expelled all the patients who had been shifted for surgery and locked the operation theatre. They also tore the operation list displayed outside the theatre, thrashed the staff and threatened the senior doctors when they protested against their act, witnesses said. Similarly, the YDA office-bearers locked operation theatres in other hospitals.