KARACHI: COVID-19 Doctors and Nurses Forum, Sindh, has demanded the Sindh government pay the 6 months pending salaries of healthcare workers and remove the incompetent Health Secretary Sindh from his posts urgently.
These views expressed by Dr Inder Kumar, Dr Hussain Chandio, Dr Kashif, Staff Nurse Hafiz Faizan, and others during a joint press conference at the Karachi Press Club.
They said that the Sindh government had hired 1100 doctors and 600 nurses on an 89-day rendered basis to deal with the COVID-19 emergency in the Sindh province. These doctors and nurses are working in the Expo Centre Isolation Centre, vaccination centres, and hospitals since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the province.
Dr Inder Kumar said that COVID-19 doctors and nurses are performing their duties in the isolation wards since the COVID outbreak, but they have not been regularized, nor have they been paid their salaries on a regular basis. He informed that a COVID-19 doctor, Dr Qadir Nawaz, committed suicide in Kashmore over the non-payment of salaries.
Dr Hussain Chandio said that doctors and nurses had been compelled to hold this press conference due to the non-cooperative attitude of the District Health Officers and the Sindh Health Department officials.
They demanded the Chief Minister Sindh and the Health Minister remove the Secretary Health Sindh, pay compensation to Dr Qadir’s family, regularize contract doctors and nurses and pay their pending salaries on an urgent basis.