In the civilised world, a strike by doctors is considered about as abhorrent as police torture on people exercising their democratic right to protest on roads. We saw both distasteful acts on a single day in Peshawar when doctors announced a strike against the Regional and District Health Authorities Act and come to the streets, while the police resorted to a barbarian baton charge and left many doctors to be treated by their own colleagues. The best solution to the ongoing strike by doctors of the Grand Health Alliance against the imposition of the Act is for doctors to go back to their respective duties and the government to take action against police officials responsible for the violent reaction. Many doctors have also been detained. They are treating only those patients that require emergency treatment while outpatient departments, operating theaters and diagnostic departments of public hospitals across the province have been closed by GHA. They refuse to call off the strike unless the Act is withdrawn and Prime Minister’s Task Force on Health Chairman Professor Nausherwan Barki, Health Minister Hisham Inamullah Khan and superintendent of Police Zahoor Afridi are removed. On the other hand, provincial minister Shaukat Yousufzai has refused to buckle under pressure and hints at sacking the protesting doctors and bringing in replacements within days. In the war of egos of doctors and the government, the end-sufferer is the public, which has been left at the mercy of expensive private hospitals.
The government can ease the tensions by releasing the doctors and inviting the doctors for dialogue. Side by side, doctors should call off strike and resume work. The government should amend the Act, which, doctors say will privatise hospitals and put their jobs at risk. On the matter of privatisation of hospitals, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Doctors Council has gone to strike multiple times. Earlier, they were away from duty in May last on the proposed formation of regional and district health authorities.
Then their demand was the removal of the provincial health minister for allegedly misbehaving with a senior doctor. Before that, they struck in April last. Their counterparts in Punjab have also made their name in the strike sector. Provoked by the enforcement of the Punjab Medical Teaching Institutions (Reforms) Ordinance, 2019, they went on strike earlier this month. After finding no support from their senior doctors and civil society, they went back to work. The same course should be adopted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
