QV Investigation Cell
The Balochistan government has decided to recruit doctors on a contract basis to tackle the situation developed in the aftermath of the outbreak of novel coronavirus. This decision was made by the government to contain the COVID19 in the province and make sure the provision of basic health facilities to the masses. MBBS qualified doctors would be appointed on a contract basis on an emergency basis to cope with the situation, Liaquat Shahwani, the Spokesman government of Balochistan said.
The Balochistan Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) had sent a letter to the public service commission for appointment of 344 doctors in the province on February 28 this year.
However, the commission is yet to start the process of tests and interviews about the appointment of doctors.
The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has demanded of the government to appoint the doctors on a permanent basis on an emergency basis to tackle the situation developed after the COVID-19 outbreak. “Unemployed doctors should be appointed on a permanent basis to tackle the crisis”, Dr. Rahim Khan Babar, the Spokesman YDA said.
The Balochistan government had appointed around 500 doctors on contract basis on orders of the supreme court of Pakistan last year. The doctors’ contract was not to be expanded by the government.
“There are no doctors in peripheries to treat people in rural Balochistan”, Dr Khaibar Panezai, another YDA activist said.
The Balochistan government has declared emergency and specified Sheikh Zayed hospital to treat the coronavirus patients. So far, 119 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Balochistan with one death caused by the deadly virus.
I am jobless since 2018 and my district needs my services, Dr. Tehmina Bugti who belongs to Balochistan’s resource-rich Dera Bugti district demands.
Balochistan is lagging behind all other provinces in terms of key social indicators. The health sector paints a bleak picture with most of the rural areas of the province without proper medical facilities. As per the statistics of the health department, the number of doctors operating in Balochistan is around 5000 to provide medical facilities to more than 12.2 million people.
