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Karachi is known as the hub of medicine in Pakistan, with hundreds of different hospitals spread all over the metropolitan city. One of the busiest treatment centers, the ever-so-famous Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, caters to thousands of patients on a daily basis.
Located in an extremely populated neighborhood, the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital comes under the jurisdiction of the City Government and is its biggest asset when it comes to hospitals.
However, all is not fine at Abbasi Shaheed. The public hospital which was constructed in the 1970s caters to people from the localities of North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, F.B Area, Orangi Town, Teen Hatti etc. The hospital is named after one of the heroes of the 1965 Pakistan-India war, Major Ziauddin Abbassi.
As per reports from the hospital, all the doctors, including House Officers and Post Graduates, have not been paid by the City Government for the last 8 months! With seniors not being available for duty 90% of the times, it is the HOs and PGs that keep the hospital in a running condition, proving as its biggest strength, especially in emergencies.
The HOs were initially hired by the hospital on a stipend of Rs. 24,000, and the PGs were hired at salaries of Rs. 45,000. With 600 employees working in the hospital, they are still to acquire their salaries, as it has been 8 months since they’ve been paid. Even though these wages were to be increased, no such step has been taken yet.
The employees have confronted Karachi’s Mayor Waseem Akhtar on the issue, but no step has been taken for their relief. The Mayor on an occasion said: “Sindh Govt is not giving us funds and we must keep our permanent employees (Consultants, SRs and RMOs).”
The young/experienced employees have also been banned from protesting, being mishandled by security at different times. With no salaries and no right to protest, these employees are threatening the hospital that they would quit if their grievances are not addressed.
HOs and PGs often work for consecutive days, just because they want to do justice to their profession. It is their basic right to take their hard earned money home, but being deprived of this, the competent authorities are not doing justice to them.
