LARKANA: House officers working at Bibi Aseefa Dental College (BADC) have alleged that the managements of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Med­i­cal University (SMBBMU) and their college do not provide them safety kits, mas­ks and gloves which are necessary to examine patients and perform surgeries.

After boycotting their routine assignments, they were demonstrating outside the hospital related to the BADC on Tuesday.

Carrying placards and raising slogans, Dr Nisar Chandio, Dr Sarmad Arain, Dr Laraib Noor, Dr Sana Fatima and others said their lives were at risk as in the absence of essential gadgets and safety kits, they could contract severe illnesses like HIV and hepatitis while examining and treating the indoor and outdoor dental patients.

Around 300 to 400 patients with a variety of dental diseases visited the OPD and other departments of the hospital after paying nominal registration fee which went into the university’s account, they said.

But due to the shortage and non-availability of certain instruments, machinery and other required material, a lot of patients had to return. In such a situation, most of the time patients harassed, they claimed.

The protesters also said that for four months, they had not been paid stipends on one pretext or the other. Mere on the pretext of attendance not marked by biometrics machine, they were frequently marked as ‘absent’, they said.

Time and again, the issues were discussed and raised with the BADC principal and other concerned officials, but in vain, they said.

They demanded the university and college administrations to release their held-up stipends and ensure provision of the required material to do house job with safety. When this reporter called the BADC principal and dropped a message on his cell phone to get his version, but he neither received the call nor answered the message.

However, the additional medical superintendent of Chandka Medical College Hospital, Dr Gulzar Tunio, confirmed that the stipends were delayed due to late release of budget.

As soon as the amount mentioned in the budget was released, he said, they would get the stipend which was their right.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2024