Things you don’t want to know about young doctors strike in Lahore.

The young doctors’ strike in Lahore has entered a critical stage. The government cracked down on young doctors, arresting several key activists of Young Doctors Association. The government tried to settle the matter with less logic and more haste. The doctors remained persistent on demanding an equal service structure equivalent to other government employees in the province. I visited Lahore’s Services Hospital on Sunday a day before the police raided the premises to harass young doctors. I talked with several young doctors. What they told me was opposite to what the media was showing on the behest of the Punjab government. Below is the list of questions that I wanted to ask young doctors.

Why young doctors are not treating patients?
All hospital wards were open and running except Out Patient Departments, during the last one month of young doctors' strike. There was no sign of any strike in Service’s Hospital’s medicine emergency ward, which I visited. I tried to convince a doctor friend to accompany me for lunch, which she refused citing work load. According to her, the excessive work load was because all OPD patients were being checked in emergency wards. The strike was symbolic. Young doctors were doing a symbolic strike by checking patients in strike camps setup outside OPDs or in other wards.

Is government giving handsome salaries and perks to doctors?
No. Contrary to the Punjab government’s tall claims, a young doctor gets a meager pay. In some instances, young doctors who have passed their specialization exam are forced to work for free. A doctor joins the profession in grade-17 like other government employees, but remains in the same grade even after 25 years of service whereas all other government employees get promotions periodically.

Do young doctors earn millions in private practice?
No. If a doctor is earning millions or even hundreds of thousands, then why would he or she would work in a government hospital for a few thousands. The doctors who earn a lot are not young doctors. They are senior doctors with years of experience. If I want to visit a doctor, I would go to the most experienced private doctor in my city and not to a young doctor.

Do young doctors do private practice?
No. A young doctor has tough timings. Every week he or she is bound to remain in the ward for 24 hours. A young doctor can’t do private practice. Those who do private practice are not young doctors.

Are senior doctors’ supporting young colleagues in the strike?
Yes. The senior doctors have suffered a lot in their early times. The community as a whole want better working conditions. A lady doctor, Dr Sadia, who has been working in the Services Hospital for 21 years, have recently resigned from grade BPS- 17 - which she joined two decades ago. She has joined a private hospital. None of the senior doctors have condemned the strike.

Are more people dying because of strike?
No. Death is a rare thing in OPDs. No one dies of stomach ache, head ache and minor infections. The few casualties reported by the media are normal natural deaths. There were no deaths during the last one month of doctors' strike. Deaths started to occur after police raided the hospitals to arrest young doctors on night between Sunday (1-7-12) and Monday (2-7-12).  

Will government hire 2000 doctors tomorrow?
No. There are no 2000 young doctors in the province. Those working in private hospitals will never opt for the government service because of poor pay structure. The organization of doctors working in rural areas have refused to replace striking doctors even on the incentive of one extra salary.

What recourse the government have?
The Punjab government has to accept the doctors’ demand. The government has become short of logic and arguments and that’s why it is resorting to coercive measures.

Who is a young doctor?
This is a young doctor.