LAHORE, Feb 15: The General Cadre Doctors Association Punjab expects a breakthrough in the government-young doctors stand-off.

GCDA President Dr Masood Sheikh announced this in the executive committee meeting of the association held on Friday.

The meeting was called after the GCDA and the representatives of the Young Doctors Association discussed thorny issues and their possible solutions.

Dr Masood told the meeting that the GCDA negotiations with the YDA were soon expected to take a positive turn. He said the GCDA had been negotiating with professors, medical superintendents and principals of different medical colleges for a practical solution to these issues.

The GCDA had formed a resolution committee under the chairmanship of Dr Aslam Hameed, with Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh, Dr Haq Nawaz Bharwana, Dr Rana Rafique, Dr Arif Iftikhar, Dr Muhammad Arif, Dr Amir Nazeer, Dr Asim Farooqui, Dr Ejaz Warraich, Dr Khawja Mahboob, Dr Farrukh, Dr Shazia and Dr Alia as its members.

Dr Sheikh said the committee had discussed with the YDA the Gujranwala incident, terminations and transfers in different hospitals, the matter of service structure, and the provision of medicines and free tests at different government-run institutes of Punjab.

He said in the Friday’s meeting the YDA leaders showed their trust on the GCDA and gave a green signal to initiate talks with the government.

He said the GCDA would take up the issue of the suspensions and terminations of young doctors in the next meeting with the health authorities.

strike: Hunger strike by the young doctors entered the twelfth day on Friday.

A delegation of the Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) visited the hunger strike camp of the Young Doctors Association Punjab and expressed their solidarity with them.

PAFP President Dr Tariq Mian said the deadlock between the Punjab government and the young doctors was the result of a conspiracy hatched by the bureaucracy.

He said the chief minister should immediately intervene to address the issues of young doctors.

He appealed to the chief minister to resolve the doctors’ issues to foil designs of those who wanted to create a health crisis by creating differences between the government and the young health professionals.

YDA leaders informed the PAFP delegation that the young doctors were ready to meet the chief minister if he addressed their legitimate demands.