Private medical practice: Commissioners told to keep an eye on doctors

Health secy says senior citizens and the disabled must be given priority.

LAHORE:

The government has directed the divisional commissioners to monitor the doctors in government hospitals to ensure that they do not engage in private practice during work hours.

Health Secretary Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan on Tuesday said that the government had directed the divisional commissioners to point out the government hospitals doctors involved in private practice during their working hours and  report them to the Health Department so that action can be taken against them .

He was presiding over a meeting to review the performance of District and Tehsil Headquarters hospitals and health centres.

Additional Establishment Secretary Dawood Khan Bareach, Additional Technical Secretary Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Sulahria, Additional Admn Secretary Khurshid Zaidi, Director General Health Punjab Dr Aslam Chaudhry and Deputy Director Saleha Saeed also attended the meeting.

The health secretary also called for an explanation by Medical Superintendents of Tehsil Headquarter’s Hospital, Dipalpur, Haveli Lakkha and DHQ Hospital Okara over poor performance.

He warned that if the performance indicators did not improve, strict disciplinary action will be taken against the officers. He directed that senior citizens and disabled persons visiting the hospitals should be treated on priority.

He said that life saving defibrillator machines must be provided at all district and tehsil headquarters hospitals.

Pakistan Medical Association representatives said that the Commissioners were not to monitor the doctors. Instead, they suggested that record of private hospitals be monitored to see if any of the public doctors were working there.

They also demanded strong action against more than 40,000 quakes operating in Lahore.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2011.