Assurance on health commission accepted
CJ warns govt of contempt proceedings in case of default.
LAHORE:
The Chief Justice (CJ) of the Lahore High Court Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry disposed of a petition seeking direction for implementation of the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act 2010 to the Punjab government.
An additional advocate general (AAG) assured the court that by September the government would implement the Act and allocate funds for the commission.
The CJ disposed of the petition with the observation that if the AAG’s assurance is not respected then the petitioner could move a contempt application.
Muhammad and Ahmad, a public interest litigation organisation, through its chairman, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, had moved the petition. Siddique said that hospitals had become an industry and there was no institution to monitor and regulate their affairs.
The counsel submitted that the Act was passed in 2010 but still had not been implemented. He said that neither had the Punjab Health Commission been constituted nor had any appointments been made to it.
The petitioner said that during last 62 years no institution had been set up to monitor and regulate hospitals and clinics.
He said the Act must be made operational and rules and regulations along with a code of conduct for making it enforceable must be set into place.
He requested that the health secretary be directed to implement the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act, 2010, in letter and spirit including the establishment of a health care commission and the board, the appointment of commissioners, a chairperson and a chief executive officer as required under the Act.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2011.
The Chief Justice (CJ) of the Lahore High Court Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry disposed of a petition seeking direction for implementation of the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act 2010 to the Punjab government.
An additional advocate general (AAG) assured the court that by September the government would implement the Act and allocate funds for the commission.
The CJ disposed of the petition with the observation that if the AAG’s assurance is not respected then the petitioner could move a contempt application.
Muhammad and Ahmad, a public interest litigation organisation, through its chairman, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, had moved the petition. Siddique said that hospitals had become an industry and there was no institution to monitor and regulate their affairs.
The counsel submitted that the Act was passed in 2010 but still had not been implemented. He said that neither had the Punjab Health Commission been constituted nor had any appointments been made to it.
The petitioner said that during last 62 years no institution had been set up to monitor and regulate hospitals and clinics.
He said the Act must be made operational and rules and regulations along with a code of conduct for making it enforceable must be set into place.
He requested that the health secretary be directed to implement the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act, 2010, in letter and spirit including the establishment of a health care commission and the board, the appointment of commissioners, a chairperson and a chief executive officer as required under the Act.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2011.