FAISALABAD, Sept 28: The administration of the Allied Hospital -- the biggest state-run health facility in the district -- has handed over its emergency ward to junior doctors for 'better healthcare', allowing the senior medical practitioners to enjoy perks and privileges without making much efforts, Dawn learnt.

Visitors to the emergency ward are given treatment by trainee registrars and house officers (most of them are students of FCPS Part-II and some of them are appointed supervisors of the ward). The doctors treat the patients and their attendants harshly, the visitors allege.

It is a common practice that the family of a patient has to cut corners with the duty doctors for treatment and even follow-up visits. The paramedical staff also is not accessible to the patients, making them run from pillar to post to get even minor treatment.

The Allied Hospital emergency has nearly 100 beds specified for surgical and medicine patients. However, the number of doctors and the staff is not enough to cater to the patients. Resultantly, the patients have to rely on junior doctors who lack experience and expertise to give first-aid to the people.

Sources told Dawn on Friday the appointment of junior doctors at the emergency was a ploy to save senior doctors from facing embarrassment in case of any eventuality due to mismanagement. Medical Superintendent Dr Bashir, who has recently been appointed the director of emergency against extra salary, rarely visits the ward where the patients need the treatment most. Sources said another doctor had been performing the job of the emergency director, though he had nothing to do with the assignment.

Dr Bashir, however, said he would not receive any extra salary for the additional charge. He also denied Dr Waseem's role in performing the task of emergency director. "What happened was that Dr Waseem looked after this job in his (Dr Bashir's) absence for the time being". He said he visited the emergency regularly and monitored the performance of the staff. The duty board outside the emergency shows that only the young doctors perform their duties regularly.

It is learnt that the current salary structure of doctors at the emergency has also been hampering job at the ward and they have been demanding a raise for long. The medical officers of emergency are receiving Rs15,000 and house officers Rs12,000. For a salary raise, the doctors had staged three protest demonstrations a month ago and suspended work at different wards to press the government for heeding their call.

Speaking to Dawn, a doctor claimed that Dr Asghar Ali, who is the principal officer of the Allied and the District Headquarters Hospital, had promised a 20 per cent raise, but later he backed out. He confirmed that most of the senior doctors did not visit the emergency.

The Allied Hospital is the biggest state-run health institution here with a 1,150-bed facility in different wards. Most of the clinical teachings of the students are being carried out here.

In the absence of senior doctors, the young ones do the jobs the way they like. Recently, SSP Rana Muhammad Iqbal had to visit the Allied Hospital for treatment of a roof-collapse victim and as the doctor on duty refused to treat the injured, there was an exchange of word.

This led the doctors to stage protest after suspending work at the hospital and they returned after the apology from the police department.