ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Trainee doctors at the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), commonly known as Poly Clinic, will begin a week-long silent protest on Wednesday to press for immediate raise in their stipends.

Hospital sources told Dawn that the Trainee Residential Medical Officers (TRMOs) as well as house officers had chalked out a plan to protest against what they called “inhuman treatment”. They will wear black bands and offer a collective Dua at the end of each day’s protest.

“We will continue to perform our duties and will not create any problem for the administration, but will register our demands and protest in a civilized way,” the doctors said.

When every other province has increased the stipend to Rs6,200, the resident doctors of the FGSH are still receiving Rs3,500. The postgraduate medical residents of Pims, however, are getting Rs5,000,” they added.

A doctor on condition of anonymity said a sense of deprivation prevailed among the doctors as they were waiting for a raise in their stipend for the last two years.

“The situation has worsened so much that we have started advising our friends and family not to opt for medical profession,” he said.

There are 24 TRMOs and 34 house officers. These doctors have been working for the last two years on a stipend of Rs3,500.

“The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) is silent on this state of affairs despite the fact that they have raised the examination fees of Part I to Rs7,500 and Rs9,000 of Part II,” the doctor said.

“With this meagre stipend, it is very difficult to concentrate on our studies, when our studies demand complete peace of mind,” he added.

“We have even invited the attention of the CPSP over this state of affairs by reminding it of its earlier decision to deregulate the institutions which do no pay stipends or enough stipends to the trainee doctors,” he said. However, he deplored that not a single reply had yet been received by them from the college.

He said: “During the period of our specialized training, we are not entitled to any facility, despite the fact that the doctors are exposed to all kinds of hazards and risks. The hospital will not support us if we contract hepatitis C or AIDS, besides we are also not entitled to any medical facility available at the hospital when even a grade-I employee of the government enjoys this facility.”

The doctor said the so-called library of the FGSH, which was a teaching institution, was almost non-existent.

The hospital has recently announced 35 contractual jobs offering Rs12,000, but we were being offered nothing. “They are exploiting us without realizing that the tendency is resulting in bringing bad reputation to the hospital,” the doctor said.

The medical superintendent of the FGSH, Javaid Chaudhry, told Dawn that the finance ministry had approved a raise in the stipend to Rs6,100, but, the decision was yet to be implemented.