NICVD considers private practice in evenings

KARACHI: Doctors at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD) had a mixed reaction to federal health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin’s approval for a proposal allowing them private practice at the hospital during the evening.

“This decision can only be implemented if the infrastructure of the hospital is favourable,” claimed one doctor working at NICVD. “Why would private patients come for consultancy to a government hospital that has no air conditioning, no seating arrangement and no clean drinking water?”

According to the arrangement, the doctors who choose to practice privately in the evening would be entitled to 70 per cent of their earnings and the rest would go to NICVD.

Such an arrangement is not new. It was first proposed for Civil Hospital, Karachi when Muhammadmian Soomro was governor in the 1990s. For the last decade, this proposal was not approved by the doctors as they thought the facilities at the government hospitals, federal and provincial, were not up to the mark.

Now a policy decision has been made and implementation will take about a month after the modalities are decided, NICVD officials said. “We are happy with the decision because we recommended it to the authorities,” said another doctor, welcoming the move. “The decision is taken in the interest of patients. Instead of taking pains in going to different private clinics for different things, they can receive all the services and facilities under one roof,” he explained. All the labs will also be in reach so it will be convenient for the doctors to conduct OPDs and the procedures, he added.

On whether patients will come to the private practice, he said, “NICVD is in Karachi and so the people of Karachi will obviously come to the evening OPDs.”

Patients visiting NICVD will be referred to the Out-Patients Departments and the presence of senior professors and other senior doctors around would help doctors, APP reported.

The private practice timings will be 3 pm to 9 pm. However, after the practice properly begins, the facilities will be available for patients for 24 hours.

Officials said that doctors will not be bound by this decision and can carry out their practice at their own private clinics.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2010.