Doctors warn of new protest movement over safety, pay

PIMA seminar hears calls for protection laws, salary hikes, and action against hospital harassment after acid attack on Dr Mahnoor

IV Report

KARACHI: Citing a deteriorating and insecure work environment, medical leaders warned of a new protest movement over safety and pay at a PIMA seminar in Karachi on Saturday, demanding legal protection, workplace reforms, and salary increases for healthcare staff.

The seminar titled “From Whom Should Healers Seek Healing?” was held in protest against the acid attack on Dr Mahnoor and the rising incidents of harassment faced by doctors and healthcare workers in hospitals, according to a press release.

The event was presided over by PIMA Central President Dr Atif Hafeez Siddiqui and PIMA Women Wing Central President Dr Zakia Aurangzeb.

Healthcare under control of capitalists 

PIMA President Dr Siddiqui said the healthcare sector had come under the control of capitalists and industrialists, limiting ordinary citizens’ access to quality health services. He called for immediate legislation to prevent harassment of doctors in hospitals and to ensure the protection of healthcare workers.

“The elite do not want ordinary citizens to have access to quality healthcare services,” Dr Siddiqui said. He demanded the immediate reinstatement of doctors in Balochistan suspended for protesting the attack on Dr Mahnoor, stating that “doctors are raising their voices for their rights, and the government cannot suppress them through force.”

He urged that violence against doctors, harassment of healthcare workers, and damage to hospital property be made punishable offenses, and that security be provided in hospitals so doctors can work without fear. He also called for a ban on photography and videography of doctors during duty hours, and said no FIR should be registered against a doctor without proceedings through the Health Care Commission.

Dr Siddiqui further demanded an end to the exploitation of young doctors, salary increases, and action against misleading propaganda on social media against evidence-based medical treatment.

Trainee and female doctors’ conditions flagged 

PIMA Women Wing President Dr Aurangzeb highlighted the conditions faced by trainee and female doctors. “Trainee doctors receive extremely low salaries. Doctors who work 36 to 38-hour shifts do not get proper rest, but if they take even a few moments to rest, videos are recorded and circulated,” she said. She noted that female doctors also face harassment and warned that continued violence would worsen the country’s existing doctor shortage.

PMA Karachi President Dr Ismail Memon said doctors remain united on the issue and recounted meeting Dr Mahnoor’s father, who said such incidents make it difficult for parents to allow daughters to work in hospitals. He demanded a clear government assurance of protection, warning that the Joint Action Committee would otherwise be reactivated for a protest movement.

Criminal cases in broad daylight 

Consultant Gynecologist Dr Samrina Hashmi said women overcome major challenges to become doctors, yet “doctors today are facing criminal cases being registered against them in broad daylight.” PIMA Karachi Women Wing representative Dr Javeria Sikandar said young doctors are leaving the country due to lack of security, urging the government to protect serving doctors instead of only creating more seats.

Dr Tazeen Abbas of the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology said that doctors serve patients day and night but do not receive protection in return. “Security for doctors in hospitals has become a major issue,” she said.

Call for nationwide action 

Young Doctors Association Sindh President Dr Waris Jakhrani described the issue as nationwide, saying doctors in government hospitals are treated unfairly and must be compelled to push for healthcare system reforms. YDA Patron-in-Chief Dr Umar Sultan said the Dr Mahnoor case reflected administrative failure and called for implementation of healthcare worker protection laws and salary increases from house officers to professors.

Acting President PIMA Karachi Dr Saqib Hussain Ansari said doctors are forced to speak up when no one else does, and called the seminar a starting point for a movement with “protection for doctors” as the single-point demand. Former PMA Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad sought a judicial inquiry into the Dr Mahnoor case and the circumstances of the suspect’s death, citing loss of mental peace and security as reasons doctors are leaving the country.

Pakistan Headache Society President Dr Abdul Malik said the PIMA seminar would be transformed into a movement and that the Joint Action Committee would be activated to take doctors’ issues to government authorities for resolution.

President of the Young Nursing Association Shahid Iqbal pledged that the nursing community would stand with doctors in a joint struggle for the rights of all healthcare workers.

n  Photos courtesy PIMA