May 2, 2002	Thursday	Safar 18, 1423

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RAWALPINDI, May 1: The health department has constituted a selection committee allegedly in violation of the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Ordinance 2002, for filling 400 vacancies in the Holy Family Hospital.

The committee will comprise principal executive officer Rawalpindi, representatives of district government, army, autonomous hospitals and medical superintendent of Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH), sources told Dawn.

The names of the committee members have been sent to the Punjab governor for approval.

The vacancies being filled include that of doctors, paramedics, nurses, technicians, sanitary and supporting staff.

Most of the vacancies are in BPS 1-16.

The Punjab government had recently provided Rs130 million to the hospital for the salaries of the new staff, being inducted for the commissioning of a new complex in the hospital.

Under the Ordinance, the competent authority for appointment against vacancies in BPS 1-16 is the medical superintendent of the hospital, who has not been included in the committee.

Sources at the health department disclosed that the RGH medical superintendent had been included in the committee instead of the HFH medical superintendent because of seniority and in disregard of the fact that he was least associated with the hospital.

The inclusion of a representative of the district government has been another reason of concern for the quarters concerned. The autonomous hospitals do not have any sort of link with the district government and are directly attached to the health department.

It may be recalled that at the time of appointment of doctors in the district government’s health department, no representative of autonomous hospitals was included in the selection committee on the pretext that these hospitals were not related to the district government.

Similarly, the Punjab health minister had reportedly got cancelled the groundbreaking ceremony of the burn unit at the District Headquarters Hospital because of the involvement of the district Nazim in the project.

It is being feared that the whole process, which is already overdue, will be further delayed as the government may have to review the whole issue.