Skeleton staff running Sindh hospitals

Patients at risk due to doctors’ boycott after withdrawal of Covid allowance

Karachi: Government hospitals across Sindh are operating on a skeleton staff for over a month since doctors as well as supporting staffers are on a strike against the withdrawal of the Covid-19 risk allowance from their salaries.

The key staff of Sindh’s public hospitals have been emphatically boycotting OPDs, emergency rooms and wards to join other Grand Health Alliance (GDA) protestors.

The withdrawal of the health risk allowance would cut the salaries of doctors by up to Rs35,000 and Rs17,000 for those below 16 grade. The allowance was allocated to essential workers in the peak months of Covid-19 and would help the Sindh government save Rs24 billion.

Dr Raja Lakhair, Deputy General Secretary, YDA, Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana, said, “this is the second month since the risk allowance was withdrawn.”

Dr Muhammad Khan Shar, General Secretary of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Sindh and President of GDA, said that all major bodies of health workers including PMA Sindh, YDA, YNA, paramedics association, and LHW are part of the GDA. In an attempt to justify the extra income, he argued that the government called it the ‘Covid-19 risk allowance’ but health workers called it the health risk allowance.

“Doctors, paramedics and supporting staff are exposed to different diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV, and other dangerous diseases; so they are entitled to get the health risk allowance.”

“Look, the low cadre staff including lady health workers, who also risk their lives while administering polio drops in different localities are being deprived of health risk allowance, which is unfair to them.”

Meanwhile, several parents in Karachi’s government hospitals were seen running from pillar to post at the government health facilities in search of immediate treatment for their children. “My child has had a high fever for three days,” stated Farzana Bibi. “I took him to the government hospital in New Karachi but it was very crowded,” she decried.

Farzana is one of the hundreds of parents who have brought their children to New Karachi hospital and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH).

“I rushed to NICH with my husband but even here we have been waiting in emergency care for five hours just to see the doctor,” she regretted.

Reportedly, the OPDs are closed and public hospitals are being run with just a few essential workers reporting for duty. Most of the health workers are in protest and have joined their co-workers outside the Karachi Press Club.

Moreover, due to the absence of supporting staff and paramedics, health services such as MRI, X-rays, and other medical tests are not being conducted. In addition to this, dozens of scheduled surgeries in public hospitals are on hold at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Due to the protest by the supporting staff, the condition of sanitary facilities in public hospitals has worsened. And the patients already admitted to hospitals are getting their meals late.

A similar situation has been prevailing in more or less every public sector hospital across the province. This included Karachi’s patients who were among the worst of the most vulnerable.

On the other hand, the provincial government rejected the demand of the health workers and said that the Covid-19 pandemic was ‘over.’ The government also does not appear in a mood to negotiate with the protesting health workers although Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah formed a committee to negotiate with the protesting doctors.

Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho commented that the risk allowance could not be given as Covid-19 is no ‘longer a pandemic’. She also warned about removing the protesting doctors and staff from their jobs. Dr Shar rejected the government’s argument that it did not have enough funds to continue giving out health risk allowance. “Look, I am a doctor in 19 grade and my salary is Rs225,000 while the deputy secretary in 19 grade gets Rs700,000 to Rs800,000,” he said. President of the Health Supporting Staff Association Imamuddin Shah said, “The withdrawal of Rs17,000 from salary is a considerable amount for the supporting staff as it badly affects the household budget.”

The health workers were baton charged and sprayed with water cannons when they marched towards the chief minister’s house to stage the protest last week. The police arrested more than 25 protesters including doctors but they were released later by a court order. “We have multiple demands including restoration of health risk allowance, promotions, deputations, developing service structure of nursing staff etc. The government neither talks to us nor solves our problems,” said

Dr Waris Ali, Vice President of the Young Doctors Association. GDA Chairperson Dr Mehboob Ali says the protest is their ‘democratic’ right and they do feel the sufferings of the patients so the chief minister should solve the issue without any delay.

President of All Lady Health Workers Programme Union Bushra Arain said, “The Covid-19 pandemic is not the only risk; we were already at risk even before Covid-19 entered our lives. This was when our lady health workers were shot dead while on a campaign to eradicate polio when lady health workers contracted hepatitis and died of the deadly disease. We go into the field by risking our lives and dignity.”

photo: athar khan/Bol News