PESHAWAR: The frequent protests and sit-ins by health department employees have placed the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in a quandary about how to deal with the crisis -like situation.

After doctors, nurses and paramedics, clerks, too, have also taken to the streets to demand health professional allowance.

The relevant officials told Dawn a notification issued for the third time disallowing such protests has become irrelevant due to the government`s inability to tackle the situation as only health employees have so far been its beneficiaries and not patients.

Two months ago, the government had approved HPA for doctors, paramedics and nurses directly involved in patient care and that, too, after they agitated.

The officials felt given its past track record, there was a high likelihood that the government would accept the protesters` demand.

The health department`s clerical staff had held a three-day protest outside the provincial assembly building of late.

The ofñcials said the protesters` claim to the HPA was being seriously considered by the government.

They said the government was hesitant to book protesters for violatingrules under which healthcare was an essential service and those involved with it couldn`t leave their workplaces during duty hours.

The officials said a lack of action on part of the government had emboldened health department employees to get their demands met through protests.

The officials said the department had framed rules on the high court`s instructions to prevent strikes at the public sector hospitals.

Former PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan had issued guidelines to the health department in 2012 to make health as essential service to give an end to strikes at the Lady Reading Hospital and ensure smooth delivery of service to the visitors.

The officials said the notification to ban strikes at hospitals was issued twice first in 2012 and then 2013 and later in March 2015 by the establishment and general administration department but the situation with regard to protests by health workers remained unchanged.

`We have taken action against several employees for violating rules and indulging in strikes and hampering healthcare but they have got relief from courts. The government cannot assert its authority,` an official insisted.

He said the employees were in the habit of filing petitions with the courts whenever they faced disciplinaryaction.

`We have transferred several employees, especially those leading protests and disrupting patient care but due to the court`s orders, we cannot proceed against them,` he said.

Another official said the rules empowered the government to dismiss services of health employees for strikes and breach of discipline.

He said instead of compliance with the department`s directives, the employees went to courts from where they got stay orders against postings, promotions and transfers.

`More than 1700 cases have been filed by the employees against departmental decisions,` he said.

The of ficial said the employees` leaders had also got the `capability` to get transfer orders reversed by the department.

He said in early 2015, only 255 applications for 300 posts of medical of ficers were received and only 70 of them joined duty.

The official said the HPA was approved to attract doctors to take up government jobs and work in backwards areas.

He said the allowance was given worldwide as part of incentives to professionals` services backed by a monitoring system to let the benefits trickle down to patients but as for KP, the health department`s employees had been its beneficiaries and not patients.