ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Federal Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan has conceded before the National Assembly that the doctors of federal government hospitals were being paid Rs500-700 per month as non-practising allowance, while armed forces doctors were getting Rs6000-7000 per month.

In a written reply to a question, the minister, however, assured that the government was considering removing this disparity.

He said till December 2001, the doctors drawing salary in BPS-17 and 18 (captain/major or equivalent) were given Rs500 per month, while those in BPS-19 and above (Lt-Col/equivalent and above) were given Rs700.

Later, the finance ministry revised the allowance, suggesting that civilian doctors in BPS-17 and 18 should be paid Rs500, while in case of captain/major and equivalent, the amount be raised to Rs4,000. Similarly, the civilian doctors in BPS-19 and above should be paid Rs700, while Lt-Col/equivalent and above be given Rs7,000.

Replying to another question, the health minister said six hospitals were working under the federal health ministry, out of which three were multi-disciplinary general hospitals and one each was meant for children, cardiovascular patients and special persons.

Overall, the network of 906 hospitals, 4,590 dispensaries, 5,308 basic health units, 862 mother and child health centres and 550 rural health centres with 98,264 beds is enough to meet the requirement of the people, he said.

The minister said the federal hospitals were providing additional facilities to the people who were served primarily by hospitals/health facilities run by the provincial governments. Delivery of health services was essentially the mandate of the provincial governments.

Mr Khan said a total of 259 cases of polio had been detected during the last three years. Out of the total number, 92 cases were detected in Sindh (28 in 2001, 39 in 2002 and 25 in 2003), 76 in NWFP (31 in 2001, 33 in 2002 and 12 in 2003), 60 in Punjab (45 in 2001, 11 in 2002 and 4 in 2003) and 31 in Balochistan (15 in 2001, 7 in 2002 and 9 in 2003).

About the burn hospital in Islamabad, he said the French government had offered credit to purchase specialized equipment provided the federal as well as the provincial governments gave an undertaking to complete civil works and provide recurring costs of the project.

Later, the French offer was withdrawn as the provincial governments failed to meet the conditionalities.

However, the federal government completed the civil work in the Federal Government Services Hospital, Islamabad, but the donor insisted on change of site to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on the grounds of suitability.

Thereafter, a project for the establishment of burn unit at Pims was included in the public sector development programme 2003-04.