PESHAWAR, Jan 20: In order to analyze the institutional-based practice (IBP) impartially and in an unbiased way, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association and the Specialist Doctors Society organized a seminar on IBP here at the Khyber Medical College on Saturday. Ironically, the impartial seminar went totally against the IBP and almost all the speakers spoke against the system and demanded its rollback in the supreme interest of poor patients, institutions and image abroad.

Speaker of Provincial Assembly Bakhat Jehan Khan presided over the seminar while Health Minister Inayatullah Khan graced the occasion as chief guest. Interestingly, the guests reached the KMC auditorium first while the participants were coming slowly and gradually and the organizers had to start the seminar 45 minutes late.

Prof Dr Zia ul Islam while presenting an overview of the entire issue said that the previous military government had started IBP in order to give an end to the malpractice in the private practice especially at the Dabgari Garden, to receive full taxes from the doctors community, to utilize the hospitals and money generation. He categorically said that the government after passing one year had yet not achieved its objectives.

He said that after the implementation of IBP, the general practitioners at the district and tehsil levels ceased their practice and hence quackery increased on the district and tehsil levels and patients were attracted towards them. On the city level when the specialists doctors closed their private practice they left the province and went to other provinces.

He said that not only poor patients suffered a lot after the implementation of this system but also the medical students and TMOs also affected up to greater extent as most of the senior and specialists professors resigned.

Addressing the seminar Dr Waliur Rehman from Bannu strongly condemned the IBP and termed it inhumane and anti-doctors system and demanded of the government to conduct impartial inquiry against those who implemented this system. He also demanded that not only IBP to be reviewed but also the entire health delivery system of the province should be immediately reviewed so that the poor patients might get any relief.

Dr Mumtaz from Mardan while addressing the seminar said that rush in the OPDs had severely increased besides the infections in the operation theatres had also severely increased. He said that utility bills of the hospitals had also increased however, he added that no improvement in the health delivery had yet observed after the implementation of this system.—PPI