LAHORE: Emergency department of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) has been made operational, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said on Saturday, three days after lawyers attacked the medical facility.
“The Punjab government has decided to legislate for protection of hospitals, doctors, paramedics and patients as well,” Usman Buzdar said in a statement in Lahore.
He said that Health Professionals Security Bill would soon be tabled in the cabinet.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had also confirmed that the PIC had become fully operational.
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“The PIC is fully functional again with medical staff back to work. The lives of those dependent on these facilities is so crucial that we couldn’t spare even a moment’s delay,” Yasmin Rashid said.
In a tweet, she said, “Alhamdolillah for all the cooperation from CM Usman Buzdar and PM Imran Khan’s commitment for the people.”
Geo News has quoted Medical Superintendents PIC Doctor Ameer as saying that the machines that had been destroyed by lawyers had been replaced.
At least 54 lawyers involved in the tragic incident had been arrested after identifying them through videos.
Two FIRs had been lodged against more than 250 lawyers for attacking the cardiology hospital. One FIR was lodged on behalf of the doctors who were attacked and the police lodged another one.
Anti-Terrorism Act clauses were added in both cases. Sections for beating up the doctors and hospital staff were also added.
On Dec 11, at least 12 patients had died and 25 doctors had been wounded after a group of lawyers on Dec 11 stormed the PIC and subjected multiple doctors to torture in Lahore, Young Doctors Association (YDA) had claimed.
Videos of the violence committed by lawyers had surfaced on social media. The 12 patients including a woman admitted to the hospital for treatment had passed away during this riot.
In the videos, the lawyers can be seen barging into the hospital and smashing glass windows and doors of emergency wards, ICU, CCU and operation theaters. Windows of different vehicles, parked in the vicinity of the medical facility, can also be seen smashed to pieces, Geo News had reported.
