Hanging by a thread: Caught in the middle, JPMC faces administrative collapse

The question of whether the institute is a federal or provincial entity has been pending in court since 2011

KARACHI:

What was once considered to be one of the best medical facilities in the country is on the verge of administrative collapse in the face of pending litigation that will ultimately decide its post-18th Amendment status.

Whether Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) is a federal or provincial entity is a matter that has been pending in the Sindh High Court since 2011, seriously affecting the functioning of its administrative and teaching departments as well as the treatment facilities for over 6,000 patients daily - over 5,000 in its outpatient departments, no less than 1,000 in the emergency ward and around 50 delivery cases.

"The last three years have affected JPMC in such a way that it is now left with only seven professors in its 28 departments, responsible for the teaching and training of around 2,280 medical students," Prof Dr Tasnim Ahsan, who has been the executive director at JPMC for around four and a half years, told The Express Tribune. "Neither has the court announced any decision apart from a stay order and nor have the federal and provincial governments showed any seriousness in resolving the issue."



The lone professor in JPMC's medicine department, Dr Ahsan, who has been associated with the institution for the last 25 years, also faces retirement in February next year. "The promotions of dozens of employees are due and there are several vacancies due to the retirement of a number of employees in the past few years," she explained. "The Sindh government is, however, bent upon punishing this institution. Even though the court has not put a bar on promotions, the government officials claim that they cannot take up the matter since the case is in court."

For the pending case, a total of 29 dates of hearings have been set since May 27, 2011. The proceedings, however, suffered prolonged delays as the lawyers representing the respondent ministries and departments sought adjournments at least 13 times. Aside from this, the proceedings could not take place five times due to the unavailability of the judges who are part of the larger bench.

"I believe that the courts need to prioritise public issues that affect thousands of people directly and indirectly," said JPMC joint executive director Dr Seemin Jamali, who has been with the hospital for 26 years and heads its emergency department, braving the three terrorist attacks on the hospital premises.

"We are likely to face a disaster in the coming months. People are going to die," said Dr Jamali, pointing out the consequences of the provincial government's dawdling in the release of funds, even for what are considered unavoidable concerns, such as the procurement of drugs and medical equipment.

"The state-of-the-art radiology department that has so much cutting-edge gadgetry cannot, at times, furnish a simple x-ray film for a bone fracture," she said. "Millions of rupees are payable to pharmaceutical companies in terms of the procurement of medicine, but the government does not seem to take it seriously."

Root of the problem

The ongoing tug of war between the JPMC administration and the Sindh government over the status and control of the entity has its roots in devolution.

According to Dr Jamali, JPMC as well as the National Institute of Child Health and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases were federal institutions until June 30, 2011 - more than a year after the 18th Amendment was passed - when the three hospitals were arbitrarily devolved to the Sindh government.

"JPMC, being a postgraduate medical and research centre and not merely a hospital, is on the federal legislative list and not on the defunct concurrent list, whose subjects were devolved to the provinces," she explained. "The employees challenged this decision because the devolution of the institution is a gross violation of the 18th Amendment itself."

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2014.