LAHORE: The provincial government has refused to renew the ad-hoc contracts of two top office-bearers of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) and issued orders to relieve them of their duties promptly from the Services Hospital Lahore where they were serving as the medical officers (MOs) in BPS-17.

The young doctors are YDA Punjab chairman Dr Mudasar Nawaz Ashrafi and YDA Services Hospital chapter president Dr Adeel Riaz.

The Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SHCMED) issued the notifications after contracts of these two doctors expired on June 30. There are reports that the Punjab government refused to renew the further contract of these two senior YDA leaders, following their alleged involvement in fanning the frequent protests/strikes at the state-run hospitals across the province.

An official, privy to the information, said the health authorities were upset with the recent province-wide agitation of the young doctors in the wake of the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital incident where some arrests of the senior medics were made over the deaths of 12 children. He said the provincial government high-ups were briefed that the YDA made a ‘surprise’ entry into the matter when the leaders mentioned above provoked the young medics to go on strike at the OPDs of all the public hospitals. The government had to face an embarrassment when pressure mounted by the YDA’s strike at the hospitals forced the authorities to release all the arrested doctors of the Sahiwal hospital, the official added.

Since then, he informed, many meetings were held by the health authorities where the matter of strike of the YDA Punjab remained the centre of discussion.

The official said that after the Sahiwal incident, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, health secretary and two health ministers had issued clear warnings to the ‘habitual striking doctors’ that they would have to face the music.

Following the termination of the contracts of the key players of the YDA, the association’s other leadership has declared it a new war on the young medics and announced to give a befitting response to the government which is play with the future of the young doctors.

There are reports that the YDA leaders called an emergent meeting of the association for deliberation on the government’s move and to devise a strategy to counter it.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2024