Private hospitals, clinics having a field day

ISLAMABAD, March 31: Private hospitals, clinics and specialists are cashing in on the young doctors` strike in the capital. With outpatient departments (OPDs) closed in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic and National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), the patients are visiting the private hospitals and clinics in large numbers. "We have seen a sharp surge at OPDs as the patient load has increased twofold during the last few days," a senior consultant at the Shifa International Hospital told Dawn . The pathology department`s load, he said, has also increased. "As per our information, laboratories in Polyclinic and Pims are also not conducting or issuing any test reports." Some of the senior doctors working in the public hospitals are also asking the patients to visit them at their private clinics. "I have asked patients to visit my clinic," a senior doctor working in Pims, requesting anonymity, said. Justifying it, he said the patients at tertiary care hospitals like Pims come from far flung areas and a refusal at OPDs puts more financial burden on them. "Patients can`t afford such a distress." The doctor claimed that he was charging a nominal fee at his clinic from the patients because most of them were `poor`. The young doctors demanding increase in salaries and a better service structure went on one-hour token strike on March 14, and for the last five days have closed down the OPDs of the Pims, Polyclinic and NIRM. On the other hand, the Young Doctors Association on Thursday threatened to close down emergencies and critical and intensive care units by April 10 if their demands were not accepted. The strike has also badly affected the routine surgical procedures in the public hospitals, as the backlog reached 530 on Thursday. Meanwhile, the young doctors staged a demo in front of the Pims`, burned tyres and blocked the Ibn-e-Sina Road for two hours. During the peaceful demonstration, the doctors chanted slogans against the health ministry and the government. By Imran Ali Teepu