A delegation, led by Pakistan Medical Society Chairman Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh, at a meeting with Provincial Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed, has welcomed the recent announcement of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi regarding the regularisation of services of contract medical teachers.
Dr Masood told the minister that the chief minister's decision had dispelled all apprehensions regarding de-recognition of all the teaching hospitals by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
He further said that the Chief Minister's decision would overcome the deficiency of specialists and consultants in the province and thus improve the standard of quality care, especially in teaching hospitals. He was of the opinion that now poor people would benefit fully from the services of health experts and added this decision would help stop the brain drain.
On this occasion, Dr Masood and his delegation, comprising Dr Israr, Dr Fauzia, Dr Bilal and Dr Shazia, presented the following 10 point suggestions to the provincial health minister for the welfare and improvement of service structure of the doctors:
While regularising the contract medical teachers, the seniority of regular medical teachers should not be disturbed; the medical teachers working in their own pay and scale should be promoted on the basis of 75 percent declared quota within next two months; after regularising contract medical teachers, the remaining 500 vacancies in teaching hospitals should be filled through Public Service Commission within next two months; the contract medical officers appointed during the last 10 years should also be regularised under a phased programme; in case of continuation of their jobs, the contract medical officers should be given seniority with the same proportion; the specialists working in tehsil headquarters and district headquarters hospitals should also be regularised in the next phase; the contract medical officers working at basic health units and rural health centers should also be regularised under a phased programme; all the general cadres doctors, specialists and consultants should be appointed through Public Service Commission in future; it may be ensured that the appointments of doctors and their promotions will be made through Public Service Commission annually.
The promotion of general cadre doctors should be made at the pace of promotions of civil servants and the previous delay in the promotions should be covered; and the non-practising allowance of doctors should be enhanced from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 to bring them at par with the doctors of army medical corps.
According to Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh, the Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed assured the delegation that the Punjab chief minister was determined to improve the health care services and the service structure of doctors and would leave no stone unturned to make it a success.