FAISALABAD: Services remained suspended at the outdoor patients department (OPD) of the Children`s Hospital here on Tuesday due to a strike by the technical staff at the, causing immense dif ficulties to those visiting the facility.

The Children`s Hospital is the sole infirmary here for the treatment of child patients belonging to Faisalabad and its adjoining districts, including Jhang, Chiniot and Toba Tek Singh.

According to hospital sources, the technical staff staged a protest demonstration against a professor, Dr Zahid Mehmood, who got registered a case with Sadar police station against six nominated staffersand five unknown persons, alleging they threatened him with dire consequences.

In his application to the police, Dr Mehmood, alleged that the hospital technicians Saddam, Kamran, Yasir, Afzaal, Rizwan, Shafaqat and 5-6 unknown men barged in when he was in his office on Monday and started hurling life threats at him. He, however, did not mention anyreason for the alleged misconduct of the intruders. The police registered a case against the suspects.

On being informed of registration of the case, the technical staff went on strike and gathered outside the hospital. The protesters chanted slogans against Dr Mehmood, alleging he concocted a story to implicate their colleagues in a false case, demanding quashing of the FIR.Meanwhile, patients and their attendants visiting the hospital had to go through a lot of trouble.

Ansar Ali, who reached the hospital for checkup of his son, said why the patients and their attendants were being punished by the hospital staff, urging Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to take notice.

Another visitor, Azra Bibi, said she had to borrow Rs300 from her neighbour to hire a rickshaw to bring her sick daughter for a checkup at the hospital. She said it was very painful for her to know that no checkup facility was available at the hospital`s OPD because of the strike.

A hospital official, seeking anonymity, said the strike by the technical staff was unjustified. He said the hospital management was neither backing the staffers nor the professor.