The Mall, one of Lahore’s main arteries, came under siege recently as an army of doctors and nurses took to the streets, holding protest rallies and eventually a sit-in at Club Chowk, leaving the outdoor/emergency patients at Mayo Hospital to suffer.

They were demanding the restoration of two doctors who had been removed from their jobs after an inquiry committee found them guilty of torturing a patient and his brother inside Mayo’s East Surgical Ward in October this year. The protesters were identified as part of the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) Punjab.

The crisis deepened when the lockdown resulted in the death of a couple of patients at Mayo’s trauma centre. Reportedly, Sana, a minor, who had been brought to the hospital with burn injuries, expired as all the duty doctors were out staging demos. Chaudhry Muhammad Sadiq, an elderly man who had had a heart stroke, died at the Mayo emergency, unattended.

Families and relatives of the deceased also came out, lambasting the doctors’ criminal absence from the scene.

Massive traffic jams on The Mall and adjoining roads have been the order of the day in Lahore ever since. Normal routine of those commuting to their workplace or school has been disrupted.

"In such a situation, whosoever from the doctors or the government may be responsible, it is the poor patients that end up being the victim," said Sajid Ali, a relative of a patient admitted at Mayo.

"After my brother Ghias Ali was deprived of medical treatment for two long days, we had no choice but to move him to a private hospital."

He said murder cases should be registered against the merciless doctors’ community. "If the government fails to do so, the courts should take suo moto action to provide justice to the bereaved."

Sources privy to the YDA revealed that the strike was actually the fallout of severe infighting among the Association’s splinter groups. Each group has its own interests and motives.

"The YDA Punjab has taken the shape of a mafia," said a senior doctor at Mayo, requesting anonymity. "Fully conscious of their clout and power, some YDA doctors influence the administration to appoint junior doctors for house jobs in hospitals of their choice. They also manipulate the procedures to win hefty contracts for their favourites."

According to him, senior professors at King Edward Medical University (KEMU) are also part of the dirty game. "They have the YDA leaders dance to their tunes. Vice-Chancellor of KEMU is also to be blamed for the mess."

So far, the YDA Punjab has been divided into three groups -- one is led by Dr Shoaib Niazi, the other by Dr Shehryar Niazi, and the third group by Dr Salman. Each of these claims to be the lynchpin of the Association.

The current protest and strike was initiated by Dr Shehryar Niazi’s group. When TNS contacted him, Dr Niazi said the protest would be called off once the government reinstated the two doctors and promised not to take any retaliatory action. "We also want security for our group members," he said.

Dr Niazi blamed the deaths of the patients on the senior doctors, "It wasn’t the YDA doctors but the seniors who were on duty in the emergency. Their negligence resulted in the casualties."

In the end, Dr Niazi claimed that no one from the government had contacted the YDA to negotiate on their demands. He proposed constituting on an impartial committee to look into the matter.

On the other hand, Dr Shoaib Niazi, who heads one of the three groups of YDA Punjab, said the Association did not own Dr Shehryar Niazi’s group. "They are the kind of people who brought bad name to the YDA leadership with their fake degrees’ scandal.

"The inquiry committee found the two doctors guilty. There’s video evidence of their cruel act. They have been suspended for one year and six months respectively."

Dr Shoaib Niazi claimed that the Secretary Health Punjab had also contacted the protesters and told them to file an appeal against the decision. "But they preferred to take the way of protest."

The strike, he said, had lost its steam. "Emergency is finally functioning, and the OPD has also become operational up to 70 per cent. The rebel group is now looking for a safe exit!"

On day four of the protest, the government finally intervened. It decided to make arrests and register cases against those who had grossly avoided their duties. Punjab’s Health Department issued serious warnings to the 10 protesting nurses. The contracts of four of the nurses would be cancelled while the remaining six would be dealt with as per the diktats of Punjab Employees’ Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006.

The Department also ordered strict action against Dr Hannan, Medical Officer (MO), Mayo, who is said to have shut the Emergency Ward.

Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education (SHCME), Punjab, also constituted an inquiry committee comprising Prof Dr Nadeem Hayat Malik, head of Punjab Institute of Cardiology, as the convener, and Dr Dildar Ahmad Khan, PIC medical superintendent, as a member, to inquire into the deaths of the patients due to the negligence of the protesting doctors.

On its part, the Mayo Hospital administration issued termination notices to 21 doctors and 22 nurses for not joining their duties despite warnings.

At the time of the filing of this report, 11 doctors from among those given notices to had rejoined. Forty-four doctors had also been recruited on ad hoc basis.

In the final analysis, whether it is the fissures in the YDA-Punjab leadership or the high-handedness of a particular group of doctors, or the government’s egotistical stance not to negotiate with the demonstrators, the end result is only chaos and, in worst cases, disaster for the poor public.