Helpless patients suffer in doctors-govt tussle Ailing poor forced to visit costly private clinics

he strike of doctors continued in provincial capital on Friday as no genuine representation of young doctors was seen in wards, operation theaters and OPDs in major hospitals.The public sector health facilities throughout the provincial capital are simply crippled by the week long strike of young doctors under the banner of Provincial Doctors Association. The patients coming across from Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Fata to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) are suffering due to extended strike by doctors as most of them are turning up to private clinics and laboratories where they are being charged heavily.Misal Khan, a retired government employee, who had brought his ailing wife to Lady Reading Hospital on Friday, said unavailability of doctors had added miseries of people like him. “I prayed doctors for examining of my wife after her INR test in LRH this morning but their response was very downbeat,” he told APP. Most of patients are visiting Dabgari Garden, a hub of medical practitioners where they are being looted due to extended strike of doctors and that diagnostic laboratories are getting double charges for X-rays, bone scan, CT scan, MRI etc tests from poor patients.The young doctors of provincial capital on the call of Provincial Doctors Association are on strike for almost one week to press government to fulfill their demands.A young doctor in LRH told APP that due to lackluster attitude of provincial government, the young doctors were actually forced to go for strike for the acceptance of their demands. He said young doctors should be given facilities on pattern of Punjab doctors.Meanwhile, Spokesman of Khyber Pakthunkhwa Health Department said most issues of doctors had been addressed and asked Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) to call-off their strike for best interest of people. He said the only unsolved issue was salary package, which could be addressed through discussion. The continuation of the doctors’ strike in current circumstances when province is confronted with several challenges like war against terror, the strike of doctors will added problems of people and doctors should call off the strike immediately to mitigate suffering of ailing humanity and victim of terrorism.The Spokesman said in these circumstances the doctors’ strike is very negative and counter productive, which are bringing bad name to medical profession and medical institutions and hoped that PDA would call of their strike in public interest immediately.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health department in order to provide better services to medical practitioners and doctors took a proactive measures to accommodate students who had passed FCPS-I examination to meet the current and future needs.The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa got recognized six institutions by the college of Physician and Surgeon in the month of February this year for post graduate training.These institutions include Saidu Group of Tecaching Hospitals, Gomal Medical College, Bacha Khan Medical College, Gastroenterology Unit of LRH, IKD and KCD. In the last twenty years this is the first ever expansion of the postgraduate teaching intuitions outside Peshawar.