Scores of Bajaur medics quit job over non-payment of salary

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Scores of doctors and paramedical staff of three hospitals functioning under public-private partnership (PPP) mode have been ‘forced’ to leave their jobs owing to non-payment of their salary for the last 11 months, sources in the health department said here on Sunday.

They told Dawn that a number of doctors and paramedical staff of the Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals, Nawagai, Pashat Salarzai and Category-D Hospital, Larkholozo Mamond, which were running under the PPP mode, had quit their jobs in protest against non-payment of their salary for last 11 months.

The sources though did not mention the exact number of doctors and paramedical staff having quit their jobs recently, disclosed that over half of doctors and paramedics of these health facilities, including women nurses, had left their jobs due to the prolonged delay in payment of their salaries.

The sources claimed the quitting doctors and paramedics had set a two weeks deadline to the management of Trans-Continental Pharma (TCP) that runs these hospitals for payment of withheld salary in in the first week of December.

However, they said the TCP management failed to arrange their salaries in the given time owing to lack of funds for the purpose, forcing the medics to quit jobs.

The sources said the medics had threatened to leave their jobs as non-payment of salary had caused them financial hardship.

The sources stated that the TCP management had requested the doctors and paramedical staff to continue their jobs till December 31 with the promise to pay some of their outstanding dues in the first week of January, but they had refused, sticking to their deadline of first week of December.

The sources said a number of senior doctors were among those having quit their jobs.

They said non-release of funds by the provincial government for past 11 months had badly affected the performance of these hospitals as they had been facing shortage of medicines and necessary equipment.

Meanwhile, tribal elders, political and social activists demanded of the provincial government to take notice of the poor healthcare situation of the government hospitals in Bajaur. (DAWN)