All the young doctors called off their strike and joined their duties on Friday after successful dialogues with the Ministry of Health, Punjab. They performed their duties with senior doctors in the out patient departments (OPDs). However heavy police contingent was deployed at the entrances of Nishtar Hospital, Civil Hospital, Cardiology Institute and Children Complex.
Leaders of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) on Friday started touring other districts of Southern Punjab like Multan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Vehari, Khanewal, Lodhran etc to apprise their colleagues about the negotiations with Punjab government and to take them into confidence.
The OPDs at Nishtar Hospital, Civil Hospital, Cardiology Institute in Multan, district head quarter hospitals of Muzaffargarh, Rajpanur, Layyah, Khanewal and Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur were flooded with patients who were waiting for the last week.
Official source told that Punjab Chief Minister took a serious notice of hue and cry of the patients and their relatives and asked the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) to run the OPDs in Punjab province. Meanwhile in Multan, a group of doctors calling themselves the YDA South Punjab called off its strike on Thursday morning but YDA Punjab spokesman Dr Nasir Bokhari called off strike on Friday and said that there was no YDA South Punjab chapter.
Dr Bokhari said that the doctors would not back down until the government prepared a suitable service structure for the medical professionals it employed. Meanwhile in Multan, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Multan chapter sought to distance itself from the YDA, saying the association was not on board the decision to go on strike. "Certainly there are other ways to convey your reservations and grievances," said PMA Multan President, Dr Shahid Rao.Asked whether senior doctors could ensure that the OPDs kept running, he said that there were far fewer of them than the young doctors, and they were far less physically intimidating.