Doctors in PoK protest over no safety kits to deal with COVID-19 patients

The Young Doctors Association or YDA recently held a protest against the Pakistani government, demanding safety kits for health care staff dealing with suspected coronavirus patients in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

They also raised concerns over no testing kits, masks shortage, no ventilation support and lack of proper isolation wards.

They claimed the government has completely failed to provide these basic requirements in the illegally-occupied region to deal with the crisis.

The protesters also voiced their concern about their salaries which they said are not at par with doctors in other parts of Pakistan.

A protesting doctor said, "Our first demand is Personal Protective Equipment kits, second demand is our salaries. Our allowances should be on par with doctors in Punjab and the Federal. We can continue work only if these demands are addressed".

The protesting doctors warned they will be forced to launch a complete strike and withdraw from their elective services if their demands are not met immediately.

Another protester said, "The public needs to know that Step One, where you will be screened, we do not even have screening kits here. When we get a patient, we can only diagnose on clinical suspicion and most of the patients are rejected. The establishment is fooling around with the public that we do not have any patient burden".

The absence of medical facilities has remained a matter of grave concern since long in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The doctors blamed step-motherly treatment to the illegally-occupied region by Islamabad as the primary cause of their misery.

In PoK, 9 Coronavirus cases are reported whereas in Gilgit Baltistan 190 positive cases are registered.