PESHAWAR - After successful talks with KPK Minister for Health Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, the Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) has withdrawn its strike call and doctors have resumed their duties in all the provincial hospitals.
The PDA has withdrawn the strike call when its delegation called on the minister health in his office on Wednesday. The Minister for Revenue Ali Amin Gandapur, MNA Dr Muhammad Azhar Jadoon, PDA Chairman Dr Shah Sawar Khan, Vice President Teaching Staff Association Dr Abbas Khattak, a representative Dr Hussain Afridi, Dr Waseem Khattak, Dr Ashoor Afridi of PTI, Dr Ihtesham Afridi and other office-bearers of PDA were present on the occasion.
The delegation presented demands of the doctor community to the minister, including service structure, four tier formula for general cadre doctors, shortage of doctors, TMOs and house officers problems, increase in the vacancies of senior registrars, raising resources of TMOs and time scale promotion to doctors.
The minister listened to all the problems of doctors and assured them that all their problems would be resolved on priority basis. He said the PTI government was sincere in resolving problems of the doctor community and in this connection a high level meeting had also been convened on July 8. He disclosed that after that meeting a joint meeting of the PDA and the health department would be held to formulate a strategy for solving problems of the doctors.
The minister approved summary for appointing 200 more TMOs and signed it. He also announced that on July 15 ad hoc doctors would be recruited to remove shortage of doctors in the hospitals. The minister said that he believed that when doctors were not provided suitable working conditions they would not do their duty with confidence. He said first the working condition of doctors would be improved and then they would be asked to provide better medical cover to the patients.
He said according to the vision of the PTI chairman Imran Khan they would introduce revolutionary changes in the health and education sectors. He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was a test for the PTI leaders and when they could not deliver according to the expectations of the people then they would also be rejected like the past leaders. He said they would not follow the past rulers and would show to the people that they would bring change, which would be visible to all and sundry.