LAHORE – More than 150 nurses and dozens of doctors working at Mayo Hospital Emergency have been deprived of special allowance since January 2012, TheNation has learnt.
The special allowance has been fixed at 50pc of the basic salary. As per the staff, all other hospitals with the exception of Mayo Hospital are regularly paying special allowance to doctors and nurses performing duties at emergency wards.
Unlike other health facilities, Mayo Hospital was paying allowance quarterly and not on monthly basis. The hospital management, the staff claimed, stopped paying emergency allowance in January 2012, taking plea that the government had not released funds.
The staff claimed that the hospital received government funding which was evident from payment to some blue-eyed doctors working on administrative posts at emergency ward. “The emergency staff of other city hospitals is getting special allowance regularly. We are not getting this facility for the past one year only due to lack of interest on the part of Medical Superintendent”, said a nurse working at the emergency ward on the condition of anonymity.
She, fearing victimisation from the management if her name was quoted, said there were rumours of transfer of MS after promotion. She feared that that the issue of special allowance would become more complicated after his departure from the hospital. The nurses, who provide 24-hour services at the emergency ward, were looking towards Secretary Health for justice, she said. She appealed to the Secretary to take action of this discrimination and redress their grievance.
PAKISTAN AT 6TH: Pakistan is at sixth place as far as prevalence of tuberculosis is concerned.
Addressing the participants of a seminar, Dean Institute of Public Health Prof Maaz Ahmed said that over four lakh new TB patients were annually adding which was an alarming indicator, needing attention and contribution from every organisation and individual. “Timely diagnosis and treatment is required to control TB,” he added.
BLOOD BANK REGISTRATION: Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority (PBTA) Secretary Dr Jaffar Saleem said registration of blood banks had been started to check transfusion of blood without screening.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said the PBTA would seal blood banks working without licences besides initiation of legal proceedings against owners under the Punjab Safe Transfusion Ordinance.
He said Fatmeed Foundation, Sundas Foundation, Red Crescent Society and Hussainia Foundation were performing well but these organisations have to adopt more preventive methods during the collection of blood donations to ensure that only safe blood was transfused to patients.
Drive: On the directions of District Coordination Officer Noor Ul Amin Mengal, town administrations took massive action against 44 persons who were not maintaining cleanliness and not removing stagnant water from inside their homes and shops and he ordered to lodge cases against such persons in different police stations.
Aziz Bhatti Town lodged 7 FIRs, Shalimar Town 2, Iqbal Town 3, DGBT 4, Gulberg Town 10, Ravi Town 10, Nishter Town 2 & Samanabad Town 6 get lodged FIRs over violation of anti dengue drive. Moreover, Assistant Commissioner (City) Saira Omer with Sabir Ali Butt Malaria Inspector also visited different parts of Data Gunj Bakhsh Town to inspect arrangements regarding Anti-Dengue campaign. They visited graveyard Litton Road, Gulshan-e-Madina graveyard Shafiqabad and Marrian Wala graveyard Sanda Kalan. On poor cleanliness arrangement, they get registered FIRs against these persons.
Facility: The Lahore Waste Management Company has devised a special plan to express solidarity with the Christian workers at the forth coming sacred occasion of Good Friday and Easter. Special cleanliness arrangements are being ensured in the churches and the surrounding areas.