PHOTO: AGENCIES/FILE
KARACHI: Unhappy at being passed around between the Sindh and federal governments, doctors from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) handed the authorities an ultimatum on Monday: form a committee to resolve our issues within 48 hours or face a strike.
Separately, however, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah told the media that the Sindh government had been given the green light to continue operating three of Karachi's biggest hospitals - JPMC, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) - by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Holding a press conference at the hospital, the leaders of the Joint Action Committee asked the government to immediately start a dialogue with the doctors, as they too were stakeholders in the process of handing the facility over to the Centre. Otherwise, they warned, they may stop their operations if their demands are not met.
"The doctors of JPMC have been in trouble since the 18th Amendment. We were handed over to the Sindh government and now we are being put under the federal government," said Dr Iqbal Afridi. He pointed out that the doctors, who were the main stakeholders, had not been consulted during the process, adding that it affected patients and medical students as well.
Speaking to the media, Dr Sughra warned that the doctors would stop working if their concerns were not addressed.
Dr Shahid Rasool, meanwhile, underscored that the promotion and grades of the doctors would be affected if the Centre took over the hospital and its affiliated teaching university.
Stating that JPMC was a flagship hospital among the public sector hospitals in the country, the doctors pointed out that they worked in all sorts of circumstances and treated patients from every nook and cranny of Pakistan.
They added that the Sindh government had also informed about the difficulties they had been facing for years.
Staying with Sindh?
Meanwhile, the chief minister claimed that PM Khan, during his recent visit to the port city, had given the provincial government the go-ahead to operate JPMC, NICVD and NICH.
Speaking to the media after inaugurating a week-long polio drive in the city on Monday, Shah stated that Khan had informed him that the Centre could not run the three hospitals.
In response to a question, he said that the issue of administrative control over JPMC, NICVD and NICH had been raised during Khan's visit. "The prime minister said he was well aware how difficult it is to run a hospital, so he gave me the go-ahead to control these three hospitals."
Shah elaborated that he had given the federal government two options. "Under the first option, the federal government can give these hospitals to the Sindh government on the patterns of public-private partnership," he said. "The second option is to hand them over for the provincial government to operate under its administration."
He added that if the Centre was serious about operating JPMC, NICVD and NICH, he had no objections. "However, in this case, they will have to return the funds my government has been investing in these facilities since 2011 under federal directives," he maintained.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2020.
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