PESHAWAR: The incoming Boards of Governors will review irregularities in the appointments and promotion of staff at their respective medical teaching institution on the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, according to sources.

On September 19, a three-member bench of the apex court in a case filed by Young Doctors Association asked the government to appoint new Boards of Governors and check illegal appointments at the medical teaching institutions.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nasir, who headed the bench, warned that the case would be heard again if irregular recruitments weren’t corrected. Dr Nausherwan Burki, who is spearheading implementation of Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Dawn that the new boards were required to comply with the court’s directives.

Sources in health department said that new boards were formed but they were yet to be notified.

Presently, the medical teaching institutions are governed by interim boards appointed on the directives of Supreme Court in June. The court had ordered the interim boards to work till the formation of new government that would appoint new boards. Under the law, the boards are powerful bodies that run the concerned medical teaching institution through medical, hospital, finance and nursing directors.

The incoming boards also include members of the previous and interim boards in addition to new people with experience in health management. The bards have to take up the wrongdoings done during the previous three years and redress the grievances of the staffers.

The health department, on the court’s directives, had conducted a dozen inquires wherein massive irregularities were detected. The report was submitted to the court in the last week of June. Sources said that it was a relief to the BoGs from the court as those were required to probe the incorrect appointments, promotions and cases of embezzlement and misuse of public fund soon after launching their work.

The new boards, to be notified soon, will also include those people, who remained members of the past bodies that were responsible for making appointments to high positions at the medical teaching institutions.

Sources said that findings of the extensive inquires showed that government’s rules and the criteria set forth by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council were violated in several cases and that required to be undone.

The former members, who are likely to be notified again as members of the boards, have more responsibilities to look into the matter and inform the court before the latter swings into action and sets aside all such appointments and promotions. A senior person, who remained a member of the board at one of medical teaching institutions and is likely to retain his position in the new board, told Dawn that it was most important for them to review the findings of the inquiries and take corrective measures.

Sources said that some members would reshuffle as they would be sent from their existing medical teaching institution to another. They said that the boards would also include people from the interim boards on the basis of their performance while others would be shown the door for their poor performance showing but all the boards would focus on the court’s directives.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2018