After much ado: Assembly passes bill on medical teaching institutes

Tarakai says institutes no longer need to approach health dept for minor problems.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Tuesday passed the much-anticipated K-P Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Bill 2015 following amendments.

The bill consumed most of the session’s time as the government and opposition pored over it for around two and a half hours. The lawmakers had proposed over 50 amendments to various clauses of the bill to pave the way for the passage of the proposed law.

After the bill was passed, Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai said the law transfers authority from the health department to institutions which will not have to run to the secretariat for minor  issues.



About the thorny issue of Institution Based Practice, Tarakai said it has been made voluntary for seniors and compulsory for juniors. Under the law, patients visiting hospitals will have the facility to see consultants even in late hours, he added.

The health minister said institutions will constitute a board of directors which will hire medical and hospital directors on merit, adding the government also wants to streamline post-graduate medical institutions.

The law proposes a board of governors (BoG) for every medical teaching institution to administer and manage its affairs. The board will be responsible for policy making of the hospital, prescribing procedures for appointment terms and conditions of service, disciplinary matters, approval of annual business plan, review and approval of major transactions, approval of financial plans and annual budget, approval of by-laws for medical staff and to oversee the process for appointment of members of medical staff as well as compliance with government policies and standards.

Each medical teaching institution (MTI) will be accountable to the government for its performance and shall regularly provide performance based data at set intervals. The data will be based on the government-set performance monitoring format for MTIs.

The board will appoint a full-time hospital director, medical director, nursing director and finance director.

The hospital director will be responsible for all non-clinical functions of the facility including budget, business plan presentation, and maintenance of the building along with acting as the principal accounting officer.

The medical director will ensure clinical excellence in all aspects of hospital functions, timely and appropriate management of patients, best outcomes for patients and developing the annual clinical budget.

Private practice

Section 17 Sub-Section I states that after the commencement of this act, all consultants working at government hospitals, clinics, imaging facilities and laboratories shall be given an option to either do their private practice within the hospitals, clinics, imaging facilities and laboratories of the MTI or to do their private practice outside the hospital, clinics, imaging facilities and laboratories of the hospital MTI, as the case may be. The option shall be exercised within a period of 60 days after the commencement of this act. The question of option shall be further streamlined under the rules.

Sub-section (3) of Section 17 states civil servants and employees of medical teaching institutions, who do no opt for private practice within the premises of the hospital, clinics, imaging facilities and laboratories, shall be allowed to do their private practice outside the premises of the hospital, clinics, imaging facilities and laboratories of MTI, and shall not be entitled to any increase in adjustment, bonuses or other ancillary benefits.

The session was later adjourned till February 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.