Land grabbers set their eyes on NIH’s estate
Senators call for building boundary wall to secure the institute
Senators call for building boundary wall to secure the institute. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad is facing threats from land grabbers, noted a senate panel on Monday.
“There is an urgent need to build a boundary wall around the NIH to secure the vast estate of the institute,” said Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi while chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.
He told the committee that the institute was developing vaccines and medicines for the benefit of the people and also saving billions of rupees of public money through import substitution.
Apart from securing the NIH property with a boundary wall, Turi said that all access routes should be better monitored and controlled to discourage encroachers and land grabbers.
The Senate panel also expressed its ire over inordinate delays by the health ministry in providing relevant documents for discussion in the committee.
Turi said important bills related to health were to be discussed in the meeting and despite repeated reminders, the health ministry was not providing the required documents.
“Such non-serious attitude will not be tolerated,” Turi fumed as Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq called for affixing responsibility for the delays.
Senator Azam Khan Swati, who had moved the National Health Care Bill, 2017, bemoaned that without documents, there was nothing to discuss.
Swati’s bill seeks to regulate health care services in the public and private sectors and to protect the rights of the patients.
Turi said that while the Senate bodies give recommendations, the state institutions do not implement those recommendations.
The committee decided to take up human organ transplantation bill at its next meeting.
The meeting also discussed Swati’s Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
Unregistered diplomas
Regarding the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) bill, Swati claimed that doctors in Islamabad were issuing diplomas and certificates without any registration.
He claimed that some teaching hospitals were so poorly equipped that they had set up their laboratories in washrooms of houses which were being used as medical colleges.
On the question, whether there was any mechanism in PMDC to check unauthorised and unregistered medical practice, an additional secretary of the ministry said that they can levy a fine of Rs100,000 fine while sending the offender to jail for six months.
However, Senator Nauman Wazir suggested that PMDC’s registration system was not transparent.
“People who are not doctors are running clinics in Islamabad,” he claimed, suggesting that such people should be arrested and tried without bail.
Senator Atique Sheikh said that during a visit to Shifa Hospital, it was learnt that the hospital was not providing a single patient with free medical services, despite the obligation on teaching hospitals to treat 50 per cent patients for free.
Senator Sheikh also showed a video of a Jhang doctor who was performing surgery in a vest.
The Senate panel directed to register an FIR against the doctor and sought a report from the Punjab government and the provincial health department.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2017.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad is facing threats from land grabbers, noted a senate panel on Monday.
“There is an urgent need to build a boundary wall around the NIH to secure the vast estate of the institute,” said Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi while chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.
He told the committee that the institute was developing vaccines and medicines for the benefit of the people and also saving billions of rupees of public money through import substitution.
Apart from securing the NIH property with a boundary wall, Turi said that all access routes should be better monitored and controlled to discourage encroachers and land grabbers.
The Senate panel also expressed its ire over inordinate delays by the health ministry in providing relevant documents for discussion in the committee.
Turi said important bills related to health were to be discussed in the meeting and despite repeated reminders, the health ministry was not providing the required documents.
“Such non-serious attitude will not be tolerated,” Turi fumed as Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq called for affixing responsibility for the delays.
Senator Azam Khan Swati, who had moved the National Health Care Bill, 2017, bemoaned that without documents, there was nothing to discuss.
Swati’s bill seeks to regulate health care services in the public and private sectors and to protect the rights of the patients.
Turi said that while the Senate bodies give recommendations, the state institutions do not implement those recommendations.
The committee decided to take up human organ transplantation bill at its next meeting.
The meeting also discussed Swati’s Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
Unregistered diplomas
Regarding the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) bill, Swati claimed that doctors in Islamabad were issuing diplomas and certificates without any registration.
He claimed that some teaching hospitals were so poorly equipped that they had set up their laboratories in washrooms of houses which were being used as medical colleges.
On the question, whether there was any mechanism in PMDC to check unauthorised and unregistered medical practice, an additional secretary of the ministry said that they can levy a fine of Rs100,000 fine while sending the offender to jail for six months.
However, Senator Nauman Wazir suggested that PMDC’s registration system was not transparent.
“People who are not doctors are running clinics in Islamabad,” he claimed, suggesting that such people should be arrested and tried without bail.
Senator Atique Sheikh said that during a visit to Shifa Hospital, it was learnt that the hospital was not providing a single patient with free medical services, despite the obligation on teaching hospitals to treat 50 per cent patients for free.
Senator Sheikh also showed a video of a Jhang doctor who was performing surgery in a vest.
The Senate panel directed to register an FIR against the doctor and sought a report from the Punjab government and the provincial health department.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2017.