LAHORE – The Punjab Young Doctors Association sticks to its guns, though the Lahore High Court has served contempt of court notices on its members.
The association on Friday continued strike at OPDs of public sector hospitals across the province including the City on 18th day, causing huge inconvenience to patients and their relatives.
Protesting doctors checked patients at camps instead of performing duties at OPDs. Strength of protesting doctors at camps kept on decreasing with every passing day due to firm stance of the government and effective steps for normal functioning of OPDs. The patients checked by protesting doctors at camps were neither given free medicine nor provided diagnostic facilities at hospital laboratories.  The YDA went on strike at OPDs and provide healthcare facilities at makeshift camps till acceptance of demands.
APP adds: The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notice to secretary health Punjab, president Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) and office bearers of Young Doctors Association (YDA) on a contempt petition.
Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan issued notice on a contempt petition filed by Judicial Activism Panel.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel arguing before the court submitted that doctors were still on strike over Gujranwala issue despite the repeated court orders to stop protests. He said doctors were absent from hospitals, where there were reports of deaths due to measles.
He said that PMDC and Health department also failed to perform their duties to act against doctors. He pleaded the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents.
The court after hearing the arguments issued notice to respondents and sought replies within ten days.
Following the Gujranwala attack, the tension between YDA and the government resurfaced, adding to public woes.
People have been making a litany of complaints to the authorities concerned for unavailability of medical facilities.
MEASLES MENACE: The menace of measles continued to haunt Lahorites with increasing intensity as 73 more patients were admitted to different hospitals in the City on Friday, taking the overall tally till today to 387.
Out of 73 new patients, 27 were admitted to Children’s Hospital, 12 to Mayo Hospital, 4 each to Services Hospital and Jinnah Hospital, 3 to Lahore General Hospital, 2 to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and 21 to private healthcare centres in the city.
Three children have so far lost life. The Punjab Health authorities have been claiming that they adopted anti-measles measures  to meet the challenge.