Doctors perturbed over insecurity, maladministration at Liaquat University Hospital

Doctors at Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad are in dispute with the hospital administration over security, workplace conditions and what the Young Doctors Association says is poor management, as talks between the two sides remained unresolved on Tuesday evening, according to a monitored public feed from Dawn Pakistan.

The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has submitted a list of concerns to the administration and wants them addressed without delay. Hospital officials, however, have questioned the association’s standing and described most of its demands as generic, while acknowledging that young doctors are facing insecurity at the facility.

According to the feed, the dispute was taken up in a meeting between YDA office-bearers and LUH Medical Superintendent Dr Ershad Kazmi on Tuesday, but no agreement was reached. YDA Central President Dr Roshan Chandyo said the session ended inconclusively.

The doctors first raised their concerns in a letter dated July 9, saying the hospital was dealing with inadequate security, overcrowding, broken air-conditioning and a shortage of instruments. They said young doctors had faced abusive behaviour, harassment and physical assaults by attendants of patients. They pointed to a recent attack on a doctor in the surgical department, saying the matter was still unresolved.

The YDA also said overcrowding in wards, outpatient departments and emergency areas was making patient management more difficult and increasing the risk of infections, particularly in surgical wards and operation theatres. They complained that air-conditioning was not functioning properly in wards and operation theatres, including the gynaecology labour room and surgical OTs, leaving staff and patients in difficult and unsafe conditions. A shortage of essential surgical tools in the operation theatres and in the dental OPD was also highlighted.

In his reply dated July 18, Dr Kazmi asked the YDA to provide its constitution, approved bylaws, updated office-bearers’ list and registration documents from the relevant government department. He said a reference to the Industrial Relations Act alone did not establish the body as a statutory trade union or collective bargaining agent for government doctors.

The medical superintendent said the hospital was ready to address genuine concerns through dialogue and official channels, but insisted that any association activity must not disrupt discipline, official duties, emergency services or uninterrupted patient care. He also warned that no protest should lead to suspension of OPDs.

In their response, YDA leaders objected to a separate letter from the MS asking Sindh YDA President Dr Roshan Chandyo to submit his disability certificate and academic qualification. The doctors called the request unwarranted, saying both documents had already been verified at the time of his appointment through LUMHS and the Sindh Public Service Commission. Asking for them again, they said, amounted to harassment.

Dr Kazmi told Dawn on Tuesday evening that the YDA was chiefly concerned about insecurity and said the rest of the complaints were generic in nature. Dr Chandyo later said YDA LUMHS representatives had met the AMS, Dr Niaz Niaz Hussain Babar, while wearing black armbands to protest what they described as a character assassination of their president.

The report is based on a monitored public feed and attributed to Dawn Pakistan.

Source: Dawn Pakistan - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017396/doctors-perturbed-over-insecurity-maladministration-at-liaquat-university-hospital