Punjab hospitals: operations resumed as termination notices withdrawn

Normalcy restored in all the health institutions of Southern Punjab on Sunday and they resumed professional duties as Punjab health secretary on Saturday withdrew termination notices against 300 doctors, said the sources.
Over 30 routine operations were postponed on Thursday at the city's main hospitals including District Civil Hospital, Nishtar Hospital and Fatima Jinnah Hospital due to the strike of young doctors that had entered 19th day to press the provincial government for their demands.
A couple of days ago, government had issued termination notices of services of 300 doctors serving in Multan and other parts of Punjab province. These were, namely, Dr Waleed Abbasi, Dr Faizan, Dr Gulsham, Dr Asif Raza, Dr Chaudhry, Dr Faisal, Dr Umer Saeed, Dr Aqeel, Dr Faisal, Dr Shoaib, Dr Shafi, Dr Ayaz, Dr Ambreen, Dr Rana Mohsin, Dr Ghulan Abass and others to pressurise for ending the strike. On the other hand, the protesting doctors had threatened that they would close all services at allied hospitals if it did not withdraw the notices within three days.
Many meetings have held between the Punjab government and Young Doctors Association (YDA), but so far both the parties have failed to reach at any amicable solution, thus adding to the miseries of thousands of patients.
YDA Multan Chapter President, Dr Khurram told this scribe that all routine operations in all departments of Nishtar Hospital of the city were postponed as a part of the young doctors' protest and only the emergency patients were being operated upon. He said the government should understand problems of doctors and accept their genuine demands so that they could better serve the people. He appreciated the secretary health for withdrawing termination notices issued to doctors.