PESHAWAR, Dec 11: Some 300 trainee medical officers on Friday began a strike in the city’s hospitals in protest against failure of the authorities to solve their problems. The strike is being observed at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and the Lady Reading Hospital.

A spokesman for the trainee medical officers told reporters that their colleagues in other provinces earned a monthly stipend of Rs10,000 or more as against the modest sum of Rs6,000 given by them.

He said that some six months ago TMOs had observed a strike for an increase in salary but had called it off after health authorities had assured them that their stipend would be raised.

“We are performing duties in the wards, casualty departments and operating theatres of teaching hospitals round-the-clock, but the government not bothered to acknowledge our services,” he said.

The spokesman said that TMOs recorded patient history, filled investigation forms and took care of patients in the ward. According to him, senior consultants visited the wards only in the morning and obtained all their information about the patients from the TMOs.

He said that although TMOs performed evening and night duties and also came to wards in the morning shift, neither the government nor their seniors were interested to provide them better facilities.

Another TMO at the Khyber Teaching Hospital said that they also faced problems in the hostel. The administration of the hospital deducted the charges of electricity and gas from their stipend.

“In other provinces, the TMOs live in hostels free of charge and are provided 24-hour-service at the hospital,” he said. “TMOs live in hostels for the sake of patients and as part of their duties so it is unfair to charge us.”

The condition of the hostel mess is also very bad, he said, adding that many times the TMOs have experienced problems of food poisoning.

Meanwhile, the TMOs’s strike in the three teaching hospitals is causing problems to patients. The number of surgeries and patients at the OPDs has declined during the last three days.

However, the TMOs have decided to provide emergency cover to the critically-ill patients as such patients needed prompt treatment.

Later, they announced that if the government failed to resolve their problem by Monday, they would have no option but to announce complete strike during which emergency cover would not be provided.