LAHORE, July 8: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has ordered granting of financial and administrative autonomy to 16 hospitals of the province and reorganisation of boards of management of autonomous hospitals.

According to an official handout, he also formed a committee for regularisation of services of doctors and paramedical staff working on contract basis.

Presiding over the meeting held to review financial and administrative autonomy of hospitals, the chief minister said the purpose of granting autonomous status to the hospitals was to extend better and modern medical facilities to patients, besides making available to them the services of professionals.

He said there were also complaints of non-availability of medicines and services at the hospitals, while their buildings were in a state of disrepair. He said the step would also help improve performance of contract doctors and paramedical staff who were facing job insecurity.

The chief minister further said though all sectors suffered a setback during the last nine years, medical sector was the worst hit.

He announced a modern institute would be set up for health managers and in-service training of doctors on the pattern of Fatima Memorial Nursing Institute for training them in administrative matters.

He said foreign qualified doctors no longer come to Pakistan due to job insecurity and it had also halted the process of transfer of technology and modern medical trends to the local doctors.

He said a system would be evolved for regularising the services of contract doctors, and to ensure a merit-based transparent system of recruitment for overcoming the shortage of doctors and paramedics in hospitals. He ordered formation of a committee in this respect which would submit its report within a week.

He said strict notice had been taken of the complaints that contract doctors were attending private patients during their duty hours in some hospitals. Under the contract, these doctors were bound to serve only the public during their duty timings.

He said the committee would also settle the matters regarding distribution of administrative and financial powers between principals and medical superintendents of the autonomous hospitals.

Ordering reconstitution of boards of management of all hospitals, the chief minister said new boards would work with the real spirit of autonomy and would be free from political and administrative interference of the government.

He said third party audit would also be conducted annually.

Later, the chief minister presided over the first meeting of newly-constituted board of management of Services Institute of Medical Sciences in which Mehr Jiwan Khan was elected its chairman.