MIRPUR: Patients suffered and were not properly attended after young doctors working in public-sector hospitals and subordinate medical units across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) continued their indefinite strike for the 17th consecutive day.
Young doctors went on strike after the Young Doctors’ Association AJK gave a call for the boycott to press the AJK government to accept their long-standing demands which include raises in salaries and allowances at par with their counterparts working in provincial and federal government hospitals in Pakistan.
Young doctors had earlier observed a token strike to protest against the indifferent attitude of the AJK government towards them.
“Young doctors from AJK are being forced to migrate from the country,” said President AJK Young Doctors Association Dr Nadeem Akhtar. They are facing a financial crunch but the rulers do not seem to notice, he added.
The Young Doctors Association has invited the attention of AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, health minister Sardar Qamar Zaman and planning and development minister Latif Akbar towards the difference in pay structure of young doctors compared with their colleagues working in Pakistan.
The association’s office bearers pointed out that doctors selected for house jobs were given a stipend of Rs15,000 per month, while their colleagues in Punjab get double the amount. Similarly, doctors with 10 years of service are paid about Rs30,000 in AJK against Rs65,000 given to their colleagues in Pakistan.
He declared that doctors have no other option but to go on indefinite strike.
At the same time, patients in hospitals and subordinate health units suffered following the strike by young doctors.
The health department, when contacted, asserted that they had made alternative arrangements by requesting senior doctors to attend to both indoor and outdoor patients since the young doctors boycotted their duties.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/337133/protest-young-doctors-continue-boycott-for-17th-day/
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