LA HORE: The gulf between the young doctors and their seniors further widened as both sides took more aggressive steps on Thursday against each other in the af termath of the incident in which junior medics allegedly misbehaved witha teacher at the Mayo Hospital a couple of days ago.

In an emergent meeting, the Allama Iqbal Medical College (AIMC) academic council on Thursday extended support to senior teachers of King Edward Medical College University (KEMU).

The council strongly condemned the unfortunateincidentoflocking up of a senior medical teacher (Prof Dr Akmal Laeeq) at the Mayo Hospital and alleged misbehavior of some young doctors with him.

The meeting demanded the KEMU vice chancellor and health department should take strict disciplinary action against the`offending young medics` `We also urged Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) to take notice of the incident and initiate (a) probe in order to take appropriate action against the culprits`, the academic council resolved.

AIMC Principal Prof Dr Mahmood Shaukat headed the meeting which was attended by many senior medical teachers of the institute.

The council also showed concern over the trend of taking the medical negligence cases to the Consumer Courts and subsequent award of aheavy penalty. It declared that similar steps in the developed world had resulted in formation of Medical Protection Society (MPS) and insurance against litigation.

The council was of the view that the trend (of penalising the doctor through Consumer Courts) would demoralise the medical community and promote brain drain, resulting in doctors`exodus from the country.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Medical Teachers Association (PMTA) also met the same day (Thursday) and expressed serious concern over the incident in which a senior teacher was humiliated.

In a statement issued in thisregard, PMTA secretary general Dr Ehsanur Rehman said the association would extend its full support to the senior medical teachers.

The YDA Punjab, on the other hand, also flexed its muscles by gathering a large number of its members from various city hospitals outside the KEMU VC office on Thursday.

They said that they won`t tolerate any action against their colleagues by the disciplinary committee comprising `biased medical teachers`.

A YDA delegation also held talks with KEMU senior faculty members, including Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Kazi Saeed, Registrar Prof Dr Atif Kazmi and Prof Dr Asad Aslam.

YDA leaders claimed no young doctor misbehaved with Prof Akmal Laeeg and alleged that the Pakistan Medical Association and the CPSP people were behind the `ugly move` and they misled the senior faculty by presenting `distorted facts` They alleged PMA and CPSP office bearers Dr Ibrar Ashraf and Prof Khalid Masood Gondal first instigated their students and then maligned YDA `to settle personal score``CPSP wanted to sabotage MS/ MD programmes at KEMU to retainmonopolyinFCPSdegree`, Dr Amir Bandesha, a YDA delegate, told the KEMU faculty.

He demanded that both Prof Khalid and Prof Ibrar should not be in the disciplinary committee formed to probe into the incident.

`If our demands were not met, hundreds of young doctors will lodge protest during the KEMU convocation to be held on Saturday (tomorrow),` they warned.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to attend the convocation.

The YDA also threatened to widen the agitation to other government hospitals as well.