Petition Filed Against ‘Slave Like’ Conditions for Doctors in Hospitals

Doctors in the federal capital are working over 100 hours a week without getting paid for it, according to a petition filed at the Islamabad High Court.

Dr. Nafeesa Hiba, the petitioner, said that doctors work for extended periods of time every week, often as much as 102 hours. At times they have to work for 30 hours continuously.

She gave reference of the hours the medical staff are made to work in India and Western Countries saying that the doctors in India work 48-hour weeks and even less in the West.

She added that the staff is provided with unhygienic food as well as poor quality water which compel them (mostly female doctors) to leave their profession.

Lack of Sleep and Motivation

Moreover, the petitioner, who herself is a qualified MBBS doctor, said that the extended working hours of these doctors affects their health and energy. The doctors are demotivated and are unable to take care of patients effectively.

The doctors are also not provided enough time to take naps and their working hours do not allow them to socialize. Thanks to this, they often suffer from insomnia. She compared the situation of doctors with slaves saying that the doctors are made to work for long hours without any additional pay.

Leads to Mistrust

She asked the court that if an incident occurs due to the doctors being overworked who would they blame? The doctors are unable to treat the patients properly as they are exhausted. This leads the patients to think that the doctors are being negligent and irresponsible when that’s not the case.

Dr. Hiba further added that making doctors work for more than 102 hours a week violates fundamental rights and also Constitution’s Article 25 which states the right of equal in public employment.

In the end she requested the court to amend the unlawful rules and reduce the working hours for doctors.

Via Dawn


  • Same is the case with other Govt and Corporate sector employees specially POLICE……

    Govt should fix the working hours of salaried (so called officers) class who are not entitled to overtime payment.

  • Never seen doctors working in Government Hospital for 05 hrs a day even , It seems that they also include their private Clinics practice.

      • Not anymore, i do evening rounds and evening cover , 2nd on call plus daily 8-3pm. 12 saal ke baad bhi agar evening night duties hi karni hai is level pe aake to phir itni seniority ka kya faida. I was talking about actual on the ground residents who do evening and night duties twice or thrice a week for a minimum of 5-6 years.

          • Konsi badmaashi? Them fighting for their rights? Did you know uptill 2011-2012, residents were paid 15-20 k for working the same hours? i did my house job and i was paid 5k in 2004. Doctors resort to a strike after repeated calls, attempts, applications, talks with authorities to improve working conditions. Kisi ko strike karne shauq nahin hai…….You guys think doctors aren’t human, bus kaam karwaye jao and paise na do. Jab government proper applications or requests na sune to strike karein ge doctors, and this is not only true for pakistan. NHS doctors went on strike a couple of years back in the UK, nurses went on strike just a few weeks back.

            There is still no structure for promotion of doctors in government hospitals, every government sector has a set plan for promotion. In health, someone who is inducted as grade 17 will be still grade 17 even after 15 years regardless of their qualifications. Is that fair?

            When you dont listen to what the doctors need or are not even prepared to listen, then ye sab kuch ho ga. It is not right but it will continue to happen until government actually reforms the healthcare sector.

          • Aur btw, majority of doctors either leave the country before starting their training or even after completing it, simply because of better opportunities and this will continue to happen. Almost 60% of doctors in pakistan would leave if they had the chance, simply because of working conditions, poor pay, limited career prospects.

            • Lekin phir bhi unko emergency services band nahi karni chahiye. Doctor honey se pehley insaan bhi hain woh paisay k liye apni insaniyat ko kyun faramosh kartay hain?

              • ER services are never closed, it is only the OPD and ELECTIVE OTs which are closed during strikes. Emergency services are always available, emergency surgeries are conducted as usual. There is a difference between elective and emergency surgery. Elective surgeries are those which ca be delayed and if delayed would not cause problems to the patient immediately.
                The emergency services are NEVER closed, in the original YDA strikes back in 2010 or 2011 i think, ER services were closed for 1 hour or so and that too was because of baton charge of police on the doctors and that too only in a single hospital in lahore. Otherwise no strike shuts down the ER. This all falsely reported by the media. I can say that the ER in PIMS or polyclinic was never shut down even once during any of the strikes.
                Yes some associations may shut down the ER, which i admit is wrong and should not be done. Personally speaking, this has not been done in islamabad or rawalpindi government hospitals ever. ICUs and ERs always run as routine during any strike.

              • Also, if some one goes to the extreme of shutting down a ER. Can you imagine why that extreme step has to be taken? I personally know several doctors who are even working right now and live in a single room in a hostel with their families of 3 kids and wife and live from month to month. Many doctors while training take loans to run their homes. Many dont get married because they cant afford it. Many are STILL depdent on their families for support. After spending millions of rupees studying for medicine, once they graduate they still dont have a secure future. The ONLY way a doctor can secure his or her future is to run a private clinic or work in a private hospital where they can be paid.

              • Insaniyat dono taraf hoti hai, ye bhi sochna chahiye ke agar koi kisi extreme pe aaya hai uske peeche waja kya hai, sirf paisa nahin hota. Medical education is very expensive and in order to get somewhere in medicine , you keep studying through out your life. An international medical exam costs anywhere between 100,000 – 150,000 to appear once. And each exam has 2-3 parts, isi liye majority doctors 2 or 3 jobs karte hain.

  • In all Govt Hospital Emergency (ER) Department, a doctor have to duty of 24 hour (at least one ,maximum 3 duties) per week. One 24 hour sunday duty in each month. Usually from 8AM to 8M next day.
    It is wrong for doctor as well as patient.

    Then that doctor go to therir normal duty in operation theater (8AM to 2 PM) for 6 hour.

    Just Imagine !
    Your surgeon, jo last 24 hour mein nae soya, wo aap ka khaak operation kray ga???

    HORRIBLE DREAM for Doctor as well as Patient.

  • 1000000000% Correct………….doctors work like no one else.. continuous duty of 30 hrs are observed and still after that they go home and are on call duty…..shameful from MS or hospitals management.. if doctors work like this and don’t have adequate Sleep, rest, family, entertainment time how can they perform well… and if doctors gets exhaust and tired he does not treat and behave well with patients and feel like annoyed………..please increase hospitals , doctors, nurses, para medical staff etc. and get them paid heavily so that they can treat well…

  • almost 20 to 30% of our qualified MBBS are making sandwiches & biryani for their “Hubbys” coz “Unhen Pasand nahi mera kaam karna to main nahi karoongi apna Medical career” logic……….. then that’s the consequence. #Sad


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