Pakistan: JPMC doctors protest as salary crisis exposes Sindhs administrative failure

According to The Express Tribune, the protesting doctors assembled outside the Outpatient Department (OPD) Complex and raised slogans against the hospital administration. They said they had continued treating patients and performing their duties despite receiving no salaries, while authorities repeatedly shifted responsibility for the delay between different offices. The doctors said they had effectively been caught between the hospital administration and the provincial government. Hospital officials directed them towards the Sindh government, while government officials referred the matter back to the hospital administration.

The salary crisis followed a change introduced by the Sindh government in May in the payment mechanism for house officers. Under the previous system, hospitals received funds and paid doctors through bank cheques. The revised procedure requires salaries to be transferred directly into doctors bank accounts. Officials said the new mechanism required additional documentation, including copies of doctors CNICs and information concerning previous payments, which had to be submitted to the Sindh Accountant General (AG) office.

Sindh Young Doctors Association President Dr Shahid Awan stated that the doctors would intensify their protest if their pending salaries were not released within the next few days. He warned that demonstrations could be expanded to the hospital administration block and surrounding roads. The protesting doctors also demanded an increase in their salaries, claiming they had not received a raise since 2020, as cited by The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Health Department had earlier rejected allegations of negligence by the hospital administration. In a September 30 statement, it attributed the delay to the implementation of the new direct-payment system and the process of establishing vendor accounts at the AG office, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)