Lady Reading Hospital. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) has issued a circular to enforce Essential Services Act 1958 at the facility to prevent protests by doctors over the dissolution of Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI). As per sections of the legislation, doctors there can no longer go on strike.
A senior LRH official told The Express Tribune, “The circular has been issued and political activities and strikes have been banned at the hospital.”
According to the official, the circular was issued after doctors associations threatened to protest the dissolution of PGMI.
“If doctors take to the streets, it will create problems in service delivery at LRH,” he said. “So far, only LRH has issued the circular.”
Decentralised
A statement issued by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) doctors wing, Insaf Doctors Forum (IDF), said PGMI has been decentralised, not dissolved.
The announcement comes amid widespread differences within the doctors’ community on the matter and a day after the Peshawar High Court chief justice stayed the dissolution of PGMI.
Officials privy to the development told The Express Tribune, the decision to decentralise has been taken in the interest of the medical community as PGMI’s prime responsibility is the induction of doctors. According to insiders, PGMI will now carry out a complete academic evaluation and monitor progress of trainee medical officers through the dean and academic council of each hospital. They added IDF will also carry out performance evaluation of doctors.
Positive step
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) Chairman Dr Shah Sarwar said PGMI was “just an office”. He said before the decentralisation, the institute operated in the same way as it did 20 years ago.
“Deans at hospitals used to request the induction of trainee medical officers (TMO). The PGMI would induct them and the finance department would release money in this regard,” said Sarwar.
“While I’m not a supporter of PTI chairperson Imran Khan, I do believe decentralisation is a good step,” he said.
He added, “It was our desire the PGMI be decentralised and TMOs be inducted collectively [and then sent off as required to hospitals].”
Now, under the medical teaching institutions act, a central induction committee will hire trainees as per the rules of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) to ensure quality training. The IDF statement confirmed, “The central induction committee will induct trainee doctors in a transparent way.”
Centralised committee
According to Dr Mudeer, a former IDF general secretary at Khyber Teaching Hospital, in the past the performance of trainees could neither be monitored nor evaluated. However, every supervisor will now be asked about the performance of trainee doctors – including those deputed at periphery hospitals.
“In the past, trainee doctors would be inducted on the basis of favouritism,” he said. “But now things will be managed by a centralised committee.”
Transparency
Mudeer told The Express Tribune separate deans will now be appointed to deal with a diverse menu of concerns, as well as monitoring supervisors and faculty. He added there will be separate dean for postgraduates and research.
Trouble brewing
On January 27, the doctor associations threatened to protest if the government failed to withdraw a notification to dissolve PGMI. Doctors said the notification would ultimately influence patient care and negatively impact doctors training.
PGMI was established in 1984 and was a first-of-its-kind institute established to produce specialists and experienced doctors in K-P. It was the only institution in the region imparting medical education at the postgraduate level. PGMI was shifted to a medical complex in Hayatabad in 1997.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2016.
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