Doctors Protest Punjab’s Plan to Privatize State Hospitals

On Wednesday, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and other organizations protested the Punjab government’s plan to privatize state-run hospitals.

They warned that they would escalate their protest if their demands were not met by September 16. Many doctors from various districts across the province gathered in Lahore in response to the Pakistan Medical Association’s call.

Office-bearers and representatives from the Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) and the Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab also participated in the protest.

Doctors staged a sit-in outside the Punjab Healthcare Commission office as a symbolic strike and held a separate convention to pressure the provincial government to meet their demands.

The PMA labeled the Punjab government’s plan to privatize state-run hospitals as an “anti-doctors policy,” arguing that it undermines the fundamental goal of providing free access and treatment to patients.

At the convocation, a meeting between a delegation of doctors and the healthcare commission discussed the issues raised by the medics. Both parties agreed to address nine key points and set a deadline of September 16 for the authorities to implement the agreed-upon measures fully.

Regarding the privatization agenda, PMA leaders expressed strong disapproval, accusing Punjab Health Secretary Ali Jan of misleading Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz with flawed policies.

They argued that outsourcing radiology and pathology departments of government hospitals to private entities would have a detrimental impact on state-run health facilities across Punjab. They also criticized the government’s decision to hire doctors on a ‘daily wages’ basis.