LAHORE, Nov 1: Punjab Health Minister Prof. Dr. Mahmood Ahmad Chaudhry has said that he will tell boards of governors of autonomous health institutions that they did wrong by increasing the parchi fee.

Talking to reporters after the inaugural ceremony of a three-day 22nd National Dental Congress, 2002, organized by the Pakistan Dental Association at a local hotel, he said that he had called a meeting of respective boards of governors.

“I’ll appreciate them for their development works in the hospital but also tell them that they did wrong by increasing the parchi fee from Rs2 to Rs10 and Rs50,” he said.

Before answering the question in detail, the minister expressed his ignorance about the increase in the parchi fee.

It may also be mentioned that the Punjab governor had also expressed his ignorance about the increase in the parchi fee when he was asked this question after the inaugural ceremony of re-location of the emergency and accident department at the Ganga Ram Hospital on Monday (Oct 28). Punjab health minister was also with the governor.

The minister, however, said that world class medical treatment could only be given if the end-user would pay something for the services. He also said that the respective BoGs were spending huge money on the development and renovations of the hospitals and upgradation of health facilities.

He said the Punjab government had also injected millions of rupees into autonomous health institutions for the welfare of patients.

Answering a question about the sacking of FJMC/GRH BoG chairman Prof Dr Mahmood Ali Malik, he said the governor had powers to sack a BoG chairman and he had no such powers. What Prof Malik spoke at the function was his opinion, he said.

Prof Chaudhry said that it was not decent that one insulted one’s guests after inviting them to a function by providing wrong information.

“On the other hand, Prof Malik did not allow me to speak and rebut his speech,” he said.

He also said that Prof Malik had told the government that about Rs7 million donation had been collected for the re-establishment of the emergency department but at the function it was told that only Rs300,000 were available in the account.

Above all, Prof Chaudhry said, Prof Malik should have spoke all this after resigning from the BoG chairmanship because it seemed ridiculous to speak against a system while being part of it. He said Prof Malik had accepted the office after understanding the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Ordinance, 2002, which vested all hire and fire and financial powers with the BoG. He said the BoGs were responsible for effectively running their respective health institutions.

Prof Chaudhry said that Prof Malik had said that the government should not call those doctors as merchant doctors who were looting the poor but he did not talk about the government policies which helped change the fate of junior doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and appointed a large number of doctors, specialists on higher pay packages.

He also commented that senior doctors were looting the people to the extent that if they donated their one-year income three new medical colleges could be set up.

Earlier, speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Prof Chaudhry said the government understood the problems being faced by the dental surgeons community. He said the dental surgeons community was being ignored in the past. He said this government had started taking steps to upgrade the dental profession.

Dispelling the negative propaganda, he said the de’Montmorency College of Dentistry was not being shifted but being expanded and upgraded. He said the existing college space was not enough to accommodate over 500 students. He said the government had created 12 posts to overcome the acute faculty shortage.

He said the government was also working to set up an independent Institute of Dental Health Sciences in Johar Town.

Prof Chaudhry said the University of Health Sciences had also been established to focus all tiers of medical education in the province. He said this government had created two chairs for dental surgery to boost dental education.

He said the Punjab University was giving only 6.2 per cent of its time and space to the medical education and examinations, while the UHS would focus its cent per cent time on medical education as well as nursing sciences, paramedical sciences and other related fields.

In the new university, he said the dental surgeons would have its four members in the syndicate and two members in the academic council to control their own destiny.

Dental Congress chairman Dr Javed Ashraf, Dr Arshad Husain, Dr Zakaullah, Dr Akhtar Bukhari and Dr Kamran A. Wasfi also spoke on the occasion.

The health minister later inaugurated the dental congress exhibition.

The congress would continue till Sunday during which some 60 dental surgeons from home and abroad would read their research papers.