Punjab govt refuses to negotiate with doctors till protest ends

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided not to negotiate with the Young Doctors Association (YDA) currently protesting in hospitals until they end the agitation as there will be no compromise on the people’s right to healthcare services. 
This decision was made during a meeting presided over by provincial health ministers Khawaja Imran Nazir and Khawaja Salman Rafiq. It also decided that the staff members failing to report for duty at the healthcare facilities in the province would be marked absent.
Minister for Specialized Healthcare Salman Rafiq says that despite the protests, 60,000 patients were treated in the outpatient departments (OPDs) of active hospitals across the province on Wednesday. 
He added that to make up for the shortage of doctors, vice-chancellors, medical superintendents (MS), and principals themselves are working in the OPDsafiq says the senior officials will not tolerate any misconduct, adding that a political agenda is behind the disruption of the hospitals' system.
Imran Nazir says that while the government is open to dialogue, it will only occur after the doctors end their protest. "Healthcare is a right of the patients, and there will be no compromise on it," he says.
The minister also declared that the government would not tolerate those who challenge the authority of the state, vowing to eliminate the culture of strikes from hospitals permanently.