Unwelcome interference

During the recent days, the Federal Ministry of Health has come under a lot of criticism from interested quarters for its alleged interference in the affairs of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which is supposed to be an autonomous body. Last Monday, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) held a press conference in Karachi, where its office bearers repeated the same criticism, adding that medical education and training in this country is facing a challenge, while PMDC, responsible for regulating education and medical practice, is being made ineffective.
The PMA also alleged that because of the ministry's meddling in its affairs, the PMDC has recognised a number of medical and dental colleges, established in apartments and small bungalows. The Health Ministry, of course, has rejected these allegations, and responded with its own criticism of the manner in which the PMDC manages its affairs.
Nonetheless, some of the accusations about interference seem to be well founded. That comes out from a press report which, quoting sources in Islamabad, says that the Health Ministry is trying to manipulate the election of the PMDC's new president. And toward that end, it is trying to induct the representatives of the provisionally recognised medical and dental colleges as members of the Council so as to strengthen the chances of its favourite nominee. Lending validity to these reports is a letter, reportedly written by the Deputy Director-General of Health to the PMDC, in which he advises it to postpone the election. The advice is backed by not-so convincing arguments, including that the ministry had been approached by private medical and dental colleges asking it to stop the PMDC from holding election of its president until it reaches a decision on their representation for its membership.
These are two separate issues, and must not be linked. The elections must be held on schedule, and need not be used to pressure the PMDC into making hurried decisions with regard to the issue of private institutions' recognition and consequent representation in PMDC. However, the ministry spokesman did have a point when he averred that the PMDC is a regulatory body, which is expected to apply uniform standards and criteria to all medical institutions, whether in the public or private sector. Therefore, it must de-list and de-recognise all medical institutions that do not meet the laid down criteria, and further that it must remove the uncertainty facing the institutions which meet the required criteria by allowing them regular rather than provisional recognition, on a yearly basis, as is the present practice.
These assertions make eminent sense. As it is, except for the one private sector institution, the Aga Khan Medical University, all the rest - irrespective of the standard of instruction and related facilities they offer - have to undergo yearly inspections that conclude in a provisional recognition. It is unfair to grant provisional recognition, year after year, to well-functioning institutions. There has to be a time limit, after which the institutions that fulfil the set criteria are to be granted regular status. The current practice is also reflective of a clear bias in favour of the public sector institutions even though many of them do not meet the necessary standards. It is true that some of the private sector medical and dental colleges do not merit recognition, and these must be debarred from remaining in business. But there has to be uniform applicability of the criteria for both the public and private sector medical and dental colleges.
The Health Ministry officials must also remain cognisant of the fact that PMDC has an autonomous status, and hence its independence must be respected. There is need, though, to ensure that it has a more representative character than at present. Instead of government officials dominating its affairs, private sector institutions as well as professional bodies such as the PMA need to be given representation on its decision making bodies. The controversy created by allegations and counter-allegations should end in something positive: an efficiently and effectively run PMDC.