Ahead of their September 9 strike, doctors in government hospitals across Punjab on Thursday handed a two-page pamphlet to patients to make them aware of their pending demands, including filling up vacant posts. The doctors stapled the pamphlet along with the Outpatient Department (OPD) slips being handed to the patients before the strike called by the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMCA). In the pamphlet, written in Punjabi and addressed to “Dear People!”, the doctors accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government of not raising the spending on health care for years and about the posts which are vacant across hospitals in the state. “Government hospitals are in a state of serious decline. The buildings of hospitals are in a dilapidated condition. There is not enough staff to treat patients, there is a shortage of essential medicines, and there are delays in providing emergency services. The government has made it hard for patients to avail of proper medical care,” it reads. “Instead, the government is focusing on privatisation and the opening of private medical colleges. The funding that should have been used for public health has been cut down. For example, in Punjab, in 1991, there were 4,600 sanctioned posts. In the current scenario, 2,800 of these posts are vacant. Hasn’t the population increased since 1991? Don't we deserve the right to good and affordable healthcare?” it added. “But the current government’s actions are pushing people toward private hospitals. The existing public hospitals are deteriorating. Even after all this, the government has not increased its funding for health care since 1991. The present situation demands immediate attention and protests against this privatisation and the neglect of public health services,” the doctors alleged in the pamphlet. “There is a huge shortage of staff in government hospitals. The hospitals are functioning with very few doctors and nurses. The doctors and medical professionals are being overworked. Many hospitals lack staff for critical services. This situation is very dangerous for public health and well-being. Without new hiring, the government is planning to hand over the hospitals to private institutions. The public needs to be aware of these plans to privatise public hospitals,” reads the pamphlet. “More than 400 posts of doctors have been published. But it is not enough when more than half of the posts are vacant. The government should prioritise the development of public health services instead of privatisation,” it said. PCMSA has already suspended benchmark and other reportings, meetings, training, and enquiries since September 3.
