Demands of young doctors accepted

Rawalpindi

The patients visiting public sector healthcare facilities in the province would not suffer because of absence of young doctors, as they do not have any plan to go on strike, at least in near future.

There would be no strike in any department of public sector healthcare facilities in the province, as the Punjab government has accepted almost all demands of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) and it was ready to take back the FIR lodged against four young doctors under Section 302 in Lahore.

YDA (Rawalpindi Chapter) President Dr. Umar Saeed, talking to ‘The News’ on telephone from Lahore on Wednesday, said that over 3,000 young doctors gathered at the Services Hospital in Lahore on Wednesday morning to participate in a long march, which was supposed to end at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat where a sit-in protest was planned by the YDA Punjab.

“The rallies of young doctors came out on the road that got blocked for nearly two hours though the protest was called off by the YDA after the provincial government accepted its demands,” said Dr. Umar. He added that representatives of the YDA Punjab held a meeting with the provincial health secretary and representatives of the Punjab government on Wednesday morning that turned out to be a breakthrough.

“Representatives of the Punjab government, including Adviser to the CM Salman Rafiq and chief secretary and health secretary, have assured the YDA office-bearers that the CM would issue a notification regarding acceptance of demands within 48 hours,” said YDA General Council Punjab Chairman Dr. Muhammad Haroon.

He said that the government has also accepted the demand of the YDA regarding cancellation of an FIR lodged against four young doctors in the first week of July this year in Lahore during the young doctors’ strike that remained intact for 21 days.

Posted in: Islamabad