23/08/2024
75+ weekly working hours,
Peak inflation &,
155 unpaid house officers.
KMC & Abbasi Shaheed Hospital yet again failed meeting their official contracts with House Officers inducted in April 2024. This has become a shameless tradition!
6th April, the day when core workforce of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, the house officers were inducted with fixed stipend of Rs. 45, 000/-
April, May, June and July - In these four hectic months each house officer dedicatedly served for patient care. UNPAID. Endless EM- & Non-EM calls, no weekends, physical & mental health draining and bank accounts exhausting. Yet unpaid to this date. Who owns the misery?
18th July- With some hope still left, the doctors filed an official application. Young doctors were not surprised when the application returned no response. Did it also become a part of dusty pile of files in store room?
1st August, the month of independence began with straining the freedom of young doctors' rights. A protest was held where no ER duty was neglected. Negotiations behind closed doors resulted in calling off the protest, the same day. The promise of releasing stipend by 20th August, remains a promise. Where is our money & why is it taking infinite time?
21st August - Young doctors continue fighting for freedom and strategically demonstrated a full-show sit-in and protest against KMC and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. It has been 3 days, three long days, where patients suffer because of administration. Unpaid and overworked, does a doctor deserve this?
All doctors witnessed closed doors of admin suite when they persistently chanted slogans.
Throughout the three-day protest, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab has not provided any statement, let alone relief.
Director and Medical Superintendent ASH deny speeding up the process as according to them their part is done and rest lies in hands of KMC.