Doctors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday warned that if the young doctors who qualified examination of Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) will not accommodate by Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI), then they will go on strike across the province.
Addressing at a news conference here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Tuesday, President, Provincial Doctors' Association, Dr Shah Sawar said that the PGMI had recently announced more than 300 seats for the FCPS part-I young doctors, adding that it was also issued same number of applications forms with receiving a huge amount from the young doctors.
For the purpose, he further informed that the PGMI was properly mentioned 300 seats in the prospectus. But, he said that dean of the institute had issued a notice to only accommodate 104 applicants for the training because of insufficient of funds, as it was allocated for other medical colleges in the province.
Dr Shah Sawar said the there is not funds constraints but the allocated Rs 10 million for the institute and training of young doctors were lapsed due to poor management. He said the issue was creating unrest among doctors community, saying that the PGMI had cancelled interviews following the protest and boycott of FCPS-I qualified young doctors.
"We had tried to resolve the issue through a peaceful mean, but the authority was least bothered to pay attention towards it, he maintained. PDA president said that the provincial government has also failed to address it with mutual consensus despite constant raising the issue. He said that FCPS-I issue is only raised in KP province, while doctors from other parts of the country are fully availed the opportunity. He said that PGMI had lost its magnificent due to raising issues of doctors in the province. He criticised that the medical institutes are being established on political basis, but government is failed to devise a concrete policy for the doctors in the province.
Dr Shah Sawar said the doctors have faced enormous issues due to growing political intervention in health department and medical institutes. He said that provincial government is just concentrating to establish new medical colleges and institutes on political grounds but it is lacking any tangible strategy to streamline affairs of the existing medical institutes. He said it is foremost duty to design a tentative policy for retaining lifeline of all present medical institutes in the province.