PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has warned the health workers against staging protest and threatened to sack the agitating employees.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Provincial Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai criticised the health workers for staging protest at three main teaching hospital of the city, saying government could not be pressurised through such tactics.

`Some people, who can be counted on fingertips, are fomenting this trouble. They do not represent all health workers,` he said. He added that under court ruling of 2012, doctors were bound to provide services to patients.The minister said that the reforms introduced by the government were aimed at making patient-centric health system. The patients were not a priority under the previous health system and government`s reforms were aimed at placing patients at the centre of health system, he added.

Mr Tarakai said that some people, who wanted status quo, were against the health reforms. He said that those people had also challenged the health reforms law in court. `After losing their case in court of law, now morally they should help in implementing this law,` he said.

The minister said that protest by health workers only caused troubles and problems for the poor patients, who had travelled to Peshawar from remote parts of the province.

Mr Tarakai said that doctors closed the government hospitals on pretext of protest and diverted the patients to their private clinics in Dabgari Garden locality of the city, where most of the private clinics were situated. He said that government would take stern action againstsuch people.

The minister said that government could transfer employees to any place of its liking. The government employees were bound to serve people as they were paid for it, he added.

Mr Tarakai said that government would implement its reforms policy and those, who were not happy with it, could quit. He warned the protesting health workers to follow rules, otherwise government would be forced to take extreme step allowed under the law.

`Those, who are refusing to perform duty, can lose their jobs,` said the minister. He said that government would neither make a compromise on the issue nor would be pressurised.

About the show cause notices issued to 130 health workers, Mr Tarakai said that it was a routine procedure and administration of health institution could do so.

The minister also denied dissolution of Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), saying it was being decentralised to improve standard of medical education.