MULTAN, June 14 On the call of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Multan Chapter, doctors of all the state-run hospitals in the district observed a complete strike on Monday to protest registration of cases against doctors on the allegations of negligence. The strike was a unique protest in the sense that major private hospitals also remained closed. As a result a rush of patients was observed at small hospitals and clinics.

Unaware of the strike, patients visiting Nishtar Hospital, Children Complex, Fatima Jinnah Women's Hospital, Civil Hospital and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology faced a lot of inconvenience. Except for a few, almost all private hospitals around Nishtar Hospital remained closed.

Doctors led by PMA district president Dr Shahid Rao and secretary-general Dr Kashif Chishti gathered at Nishtar Hospital and demanded withdrawal of cases against their colleagues.

They also demanded a separate accountability system for doctors consisting of those persons who could understand the technicalities of the issues. Most of the senior doctors did not join the protest.

The PMA managed to make the strike call a success at public and private hospitals because most of its members are attached with private hospitals as well.

Some of them are silent shareholders in private hospitals besides running their pharmaceutical distribution companies which supply medicines to private as well as government hospitals.

HOSPITAL HEADS The administrators of state-run hospitals say they are helpless in taking administrative action against striking doctors.

Nishtar Medical College Principal Dr Laiq Siddiqi said that doctors were gazetted officers and the competent authority alone had right to take such a decision.

He said that his duty was to ensure that patients did not suffer and because of that emergency ward remained functional.

He said going on strike was against the services rules, however, he was not sure if this step was the violation of the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act, 2006.

Executive District Officer (Health) Dr Syed Islam Zaffar said that he did not believe that the doctors who observed strike had violated the PEEDA Act.

He said that issuing notices to the doctors was also not possible as about 1000 doctors serving in state-run institutions had observed the strike.

Children Complex administrator Dr Rana Aftab said that going on strike was illegal and the violation of services rules but he was not in a position to take any administrative action against violators. He said that he was not in the favour of any move that created problems for the general public.

He said that steps should also be taken to end circumstances that forced the doctors to observe strike.

PMA general secretary Dr Kashif Chishti said the association had already informed the authority concerned about the strike and it was not the violation of the PEEDA Act and service rules.

He said that closing down the emergency wards was against the rules and that was why emergencies remained opened in all state-run hospitals during the strike.