Young doctors, govt remain at odds

More protests against Medical Teaching Institutions Reform Act threatened

LAHORE:

With no let-up in a conflict between the government and the Young Doctors Association over the implementation of the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Reform Act 2020, patients face further disruption of services in hospitals amid protests against the law.

Protest marches by doctors, nurses and paramedics on the road have specially affected the major government hospitals in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

Already, the patients reportedly have to wait for up to three months for surgeries, while supply of medicines free of charge has stopped. According to reports, about 70 per cent of machines for diagnostic tests are not functioning and Rs50 to Rs200 is being charged for routine tests.

The government has introduced 33 reforms under the Act for better treatment of patients and the welfare of medical institutions, but the young doctors have declared that the measures are against the interest of the patients and medics.

The Act has been implemented under a pilot project in government medical institutions in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi that are run under the federal government.

Under the Act, the administrative powers of medical superintendents and principals in government hospitals have been handed over to the boards of governors and management. The boards include experts and well-known people in social service as members and chairpersons. Members of the business community, religious scholars, legal experts, intellectuals, health officials, welfare organisations and civil society representatives have been declared eligible to be part of the boards.

The boards will take care of matters ranging from cleanliness at the hospitals and institutions to providing quality medical facilities, as well as handle the performance of employees from Class IV to principal.

They will also manage the duty roster, recruitment, demotion, transfer and appointment of staff.

The boards will also be responsible for the attendance, arrival and departure of officials, doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other employees performing medical services in the institutions as per the rules and regulations. No one will have the right to form unions, protest or observe a strike at an institution. All employees will not be allowed to leave during the eight-hour duty. Any leave must be reported.

Sources said that earlier, there had been complaints of absence of staff from duty, lack of access for patients and their families to the management, purchase of medicines from markets, delay in surgeries for heart, kidney and liver diseases are not performed for three years. There were also allegations of favoritism in prescription of medicines and corruption in the purchase of equipment. Dozens of employees were been caught selling the medicines supplied by the government free of charge.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid said the MTI Act is not related to privatisation of government hospitals, nor will the employees be removed from the department. “It is a measure for reforms in government hospitals and medical institutions from which patients and their families will directly benefit. All employees will be under the health department. The boards will oversee them.”

On the other hand, the Young Doctors Association President Dr Salman Haseeb Chaudhry and Patron-in- Chief Dr Atif Majeed Chaudhry said the MTI Act is anti-patient and anti-physician move aimed at privatising hospitals.

They said a call for nationwide protest would be given later this month if the law was not withdrawn.

In response to a question, Dr Salman Haseeb said that if the doctors went on strike or protest, the treatment of patients would not be affected.

The MTI Act was approved by the Punjab governor last year, with government claiming that it had been passed after consultation with all the stakeholders. However, the Pakistan Medical Association and other organisations boycotted the process.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2021.