KARACHI: Pay scale of paramedics revised after 24 years
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, May 13: The Sindh government on Saturday notified the revised service structure for paramedical staff for immediate implementation.
More than 24, 000 health department employees in grades 1 to 15 would benefit from the revision in phases.
Unfolding the details of the plan and new structure at a press conference, Sindh Minister for Health Shabbir Ahmad Qaimkhani said that the overhauling of the service structures for nurses, ward boys, technicians and other paramedical staff was due for over 24 years.
Showing the notification pertaining to the lower-grade hospital employees, Mr Qaimkhani said that the issuance of the separate service structure for paramedical staff was a great success achieved jointly by the health department and different associations of paramedics. The government would also issue another notification regarding promotion of about 2,000 nurses in grades 14 to 16. This, he said, would have a financial implication of Rs36.5 million.
It was in June-July last year that the paramedical staffs had intensified their protest campaigns in regard to the new service structure and a system of automatic promotions. In the following weeks, representatives of paramedics and officials of the health and finance departments held a series of meetings to sort out the issue.
Mr Qaimkhani said that the new structure was the outcome of a consensus reached between the officials and hospital employees. The revision had the support from the finance department and chief minister as well, he added. Payments under the new structure would increase the salary budget by Rs50 million per year and this had been guaranteed by the Sindh government, the minister said, adding that his department was also working towards a revision of the service structure for the doctors employed under the special cadre.
He said that government wanted to extend more incentives and monetary benefits to doctors and paramedics and to ensure the respect they deserved by virtue of their profession. In turn, the health care personnel should improve their performance and pay more attention to the elimination of the sufferings of the ailing humanity.
He advised doctors to keep wearing their apron and display their professional cards while on duty so that they could easily be distinguished by patients and their visitors, particularly in an emergency situation at hospitals. This could also help avoid cases of misbehaviour with doctors and paramedics, he added.
The minister said that his department did not like doctors’ frequent meetings with medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies during duty hours at government hospitals as this practice ultimately caused problems to patients. Such meetings, he said, should be avoided especially during peak hours, i.e. from 8.30am to noon.
Health Secretary Dr Naushad Shaikh told newsmen that more than 24,000 paramedics would start getting a revised salary under the new service structure with immediate effect. The new structure, meant for the employees in grades 1 to 15, accords sanction to the upgrading of various posts in the pay scales of different categories.
He said that technicians and dispensers would now get grade-9 instead of grade-6/7 whereas the employees in grade-1 and 2 would be able to get promotions up to grade-6; those in grades-3 and 4 up to grade-8; and the employees in grade-5 could be promoted up to grade-9. Similarly, the grade-6 employees could get promotions up to grade-10; those in grade-7 up to grade-11; those in grades-8 to 13 up to grade-16; those in grade-14 up to grade-16; and those in grade-15 would be able to reach grade-17.Many officer-bearers of different organisations of paramedics were present at the press conference. They welcomed the implementation of the revised service structure paid tributes to the services of their leader, late Zakir Hussain, in this regard. Mr Hussain was among those killed in the April 11 blast at Nishtar Park.
Talking to a group of journalists in his office, Dr Naushad said that there were 3,800 posts of paramedics and 400 posts of nurses lying vacant in the health department. The same would be filled as soon as the government lifted the ban on fresh recruitments, he added.
He said that the department had received about 30,000 applications against these vacancies which were now in the process of short-listing.
