Karachi: Paramedical staff and doctors at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College (JPMC) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) on Friday boycotted their duties and staged a protest against the proposed auction of the hospitals.
Staff of the two public sector hospitals flocked in front of the JPMC and chanted slogans against the government’s plan to privatise about a 100 of government-run hospitals and hand them over either to the non-government organisations (NGOs) or the private sector.
The work at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of the two largest hospitals in the city, remained suspended. Most of the patients in these hospitals belongs to the poor and low income groups, who cannot afford to visit private clinics.
The protesting paramedics resolved to intensify their protest from Monday onwards to put pressure on the government to accede to their long-pending demands.
The provincial health minister recently indicted government’s inclination to sell off the public sector hospitals and appoint directors from the private sector on the boards of directors to run the district hospitals in the province.
Beside opposition to the proposed privatisation of the hospitals, the paramedics also wanted the provincial government to restore their allowances and perks, which were withdrawn after the hospitals transfer into provincial administration from the federal jurisdiction.
Pakistan has amended its constitution some years ago under which many federal departments and organisations were handed to the provinces in pursuance of the federal government’s devolution plan that sought more empowerment of the provincial government and municipalities.
With the shifting of administrative jurisdiction, the employees were not getting their health, housing and deputation allowances, which would make a substantial chunk of their monthly salaries.
Special secretary to the government on health Dr Khalid Shaikh told the media that a petition of the hospitals’ employees is in the court and it has issued a stay order with regard to the hospitals ownership. He said that the issue would go on as long as the stay was vacated.
Under the radical devolution plan, Islamabad had devolved many a federal ministries to the provinces to augment provincial autonomy but misinterpretations of the law has led to drastic breakdown of governance.
