Nursing director made dean at LRH

Move sparks uproar among doctors over MTI rules

PESHAWAR:

In a controversial move at Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's largest medical facility, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar, standard protocols have allegedly been disregarded as the hospital's Nursing Director has been appointed to the key academic and administrative position of Dean.

The Board of Governors (BoG) has also handed the additional charge of Medical Director to the Hospital Director, triggering outrage within the doctors' community.

Sources confirmed that the BoG issued an official notification relieving Dr Ameer Muhammad (Dean) and Dr Zafar Mehmood (Medical Director) from their posts upon completion of their tenures, reassigning them to their respective faculties. Subsequently, the additional responsibilities were assigned to the Nursing Director and Hospital Director, along with full administrative authority.

This decision has raised serious concerns among medical professionals, who argue that such appointments blatantly violate the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act's regulations. According to the rules, the Dean must hold an MBBS degree, an FCPS qualification, a minimum of eight years of experience as a department head, and a professor-level appointment. Similarly, the Medical Director must also be a professor in the medical field.

Sources further revealed that the Service Tribunal has already ruled that acting appointments to positions like Medical Director, Hospital Director, Nursing Director, Finance Director, Director HR, and Secretary BoG cannot exceed three months. However, both the Medical Director and Dean roles at LRH had been held on an ad-hoc basis for over two years and one year respectively.

Adding to the controversy, LRH had recently suspended 19 doctors. When these doctors challenged the decision in the Service Tribunal, the tribunal reportedly questioned the legality of orders passed by an unlawfully extended Dean.

A hospital spokesperson, however, downplayed the matter, stating, "These are routine administrative matters. The Board of Governors regularly makes such decisions as needed."