The purpose of legislation is to establish a comprehensive healthcare system and devolve authority and accountability at the regional and district level. The bill was moved by Health Minister Hisham Inamullah who while highlighting aims and objectives of the bill, said protest is unnecessary as privatisation of hospitals has not been part of the bill. He clarified that the bill was meant to benefit people and to resolve their health related problems. He said the bill would specially benefit people residing in far flung areas of the province. Despite the fact that consultation and meeting were held with doctors for giving right direction to health department but they have shown indifferent attitude in all the meetings, minister said.
The health minister said protest of doctors has nothing to do with the privatisation of hospitals but the protest was started to pressurise the authorities over transfer and posting of doctors.
I would resign if anything related to privatisation of hospitals was included in the bill, the minister claimed, he said and added that adding a handful of doctors are staging unjustified protest only to influence and pressurise government.
He said people are suffering due to protest of doctors that have ignored their professional obligations to serve and help the patients and ailing community. He also condemned baton charge on the protesting doctors and asserted that reforms would be introduced in health sector as it would benefit public and resolve their problems.
Sahibzada Sana Ullah of PPP supported the stance of health minister and said those who have started protest should be dealt accordingly. He said protest of doctors have affected service delivery system and has increased hardships of patients.
He said there are complaints of the absence of doctors in peripheries and far flung areas but the government is criticised by opposition when they started efforts to introduce reforms in health sector that were aimed to facilitate patients in getting medical treatment.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani condemned baton charge on doctors and said the bill passed by the treasury as cruel and unjust. He said amendments proposed by the opposition were being bulldozed by the government that is against the norms of democracy.