Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai has said that by surrendering its powers and authority to the independent Boards of Governors (BoGs) the provincial government has proved its sincerity and commitment to non-political interference in the institutions and the provision of state of the art health care facilities to the public at large.
Talking to the members of the Boards of Governors of different Medical Teaching Institutions in Islamabad the other day he said that providing statutory powers of hire and fire, financial and operational independence to these BoGs and having laid their hands off from any interference the provincial government has proved its commitment to upholding fair-play, justice and merit thus it is now the responsibility of the members of these BoGs to work for state of the art health facilities in their respective hospitals.
The first ever joint introductory meeting of the newly established BoG members of Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad and Mardan Medical Complex was held in Islamabad the other day. Besides Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers Shahram Khan Tarakai and Mohammad Atif, Secretary Health Abid Majeed, Chairman BoG Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar Dr Nousherwan Barki, Chairman Hayatabad Medical Complex, Sahibzada Saeed Ahmad, newly appointed BoG members of the above mentioned hospitals and other relevant quarters of Health Department attended the meeting.
At the very outset Secretary Health briefed the participants about the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015 and said that the law provided complete operational, administrative and financial autonomy to eight public Sector teaching hospitals. He informed that BoGs have been constituted for six such institutions which will improve governance and accountability there.
He told that these institutions will be fully autonomous to utilise hospital resources, enhance utilisation of services, improve health care services and efficiently utilise their financial resources. He also informed that all members of such BoGs were from the private sector and the government will no more interfere in the affairs of these hospitals. Secretary Health briefed the participants about the functions of these BoGs and said that these MTIs will only be accountable to the government in their performance and thus regularly provide performance based data to the government and later periodically evaluate it against the set targets related to efficiency and effectiveness.
He said that though the BoGs will have all the powers to appoint and even create vacancies wherever required but the services of the existing employees will be fully protected providing option to the provincial government employees (civil servants) to chose between their respective MTI or continuation with the government.
While the Chairman BoG, LRH Peshawar Nousherwan Barki apprised the participants about his experiences with that premier hospital and the salient features of the rules and regulations framed under the MTI Act. Later, the participants held a threadbare discussion on the affairs of these hospitals in view of the overall health care situation in the Province with a view to improve the working of these hospitals and bring them on a par with those of the best health facilities of the world. The meeting also decided that a proper and formal meeting of the new BOGs of Ayub Medical Complex will be convened within the first week of the next month.