ISLAMABAD: The Director General (DG) Health is working on deputation for the last six years, while the executive director (ED) PIMS, who is a dentist and cannot hold the position of head of a teaching hospital, both are working against the rules.

This was revealed in the Senate Standing Committee on the National Health Services, which held under the chairmanship of Khoshbakht Shujaat.

The committee discussed the cases of promotion of senior doctors of the PIMS hospital, issue of officers working on additional charges, pharmaceutical companies manufacturing fake drugs that have been shut down during the last three years, removal of doctors as per the provincial quota of five percent of PIMS Hospital, and details of people infected with coronavirus at the quarantine centre set up in Taftan.

Khoshbakht Shujaat said that the Ministry of Health was a very important institution and it was a matter of people's lives.

By solving the problems of this institution, better health facilities can be provided to the people.

It is hoped that the Special Assistant for Health will attend the meetings of the committee and implement the recommendations of the committee.

The committee meeting expressed anger over the late supply of working papers and non-attendance of the secretary, Ministry of Health in the committee meeting.

Shafiq Tareen said that five additional charges had been given to a single person.

Grade 18 officers are working in Grade 20 and unrelated persons have been posted in many posts.

The DG Health has come from the Punjab on deputation and working for the last six years, and working on deputation for more than five years is not in law.

The ED PIMS, who is a dentist, has three charges. According to the rules, a dentist cannot be the head of a teaching hospital. This post belongs to the admin cadre.

Doctor with a fake degree in the NIRM is working on additional charge. Registration of the PMDC should be produced.

He asked the Ministry of Health to provide details of vertical programmes and of Dr Rana Safdar who is not a civil servant but an employee of the NIH. He has also been given polio, national coordinator malaria, AIDS, TB and other charges.

Dr Amir of the NIH has additional charge of the ED. He came on deputation. Deputation is over. He is still in that post and has additional charge of health research. Details of the DRAP CEOs and directors should be provided to the committee.

The issue raised by Senator Usman Khan Kakar was reviewed in detail. Kakar said that provinces were the pillars of the federation. At PIMS Hospital, doctors from all four provinces are active in providing health services to the people and according to the quota, five percent of the doctors from each province are selected by the Public Service Commission.

Promotion of doctors of the PIMS Hospital has been pending for a long time. The Supreme Court, including the Parliament, has also issued orders in this regard but the Ministry of Health is not implementing it. Show cause notices have also been issued to some doctors, which is injustice.

Additional Secretary Ministry of Health said that show cause notices have been withdrawn and will be provided to the committee.

Kakar said that there are also people working in the PIMS who do not belong to the relevant field, but blue-eyed were rewarded based on favoritism.

The members of the committee said that there is the policy 2008 of the Ministry of Health. Why the ministry does not work according to it?

Tareen said that Court had constituted a committee in this regard, where all the matters were settled but only implementation is required.

The additional secretary informed the committee that there are three forums for promotion. Grade 19 to 20, and 20 to 21, are promoted by the Central Selection Board in which the institutions send the relevant cases. The DPC look after the promotion from grade 18 to 19, and the board approves grades 17 to 18.

He said that there are some doctors in the PIMS Hospital, who joined in 2006 and have done two specialisations but are still working in grade 17.

The committee was told that interpretation of the committee report, constituted by the court is being carried. It has been directed to review this report and move forward.

Senator Sajjad Turi said that his agenda is also related to this, and it should be clubbed and reviewed, and a strategy should be adopted to address this issue.

At which, the standing committee decided that this issue also belongs to the doctors belonging to the four provinces.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020