LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) announced on Sunday to have completed preparations to make its protest march to be held on July nine a big show.

‘Protesters will march from PMA House, Ferozepur Road, to the residence of Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif in H-Block of Model Town,’ PMA Lahore President Dr Yasmeen Rashid told reporters.

‘We will keep sitting there till the fulfillment of our demands,’ she said.

She said the march aimed at reminding the government about its promises made with doctors time and again.

‘The reason behind marching to Sharif’s residence is that we want to remind the government the promise it made with the PMA that every move in the health sector would be initiated after consultation with the PMA,’ she said.

Dr Rashid said the purpose of the protest march was also to highlight the non-cooperation of the Health Department regarding the regularisation of postgraduate doctors and the promotion of postgraduate medical officers.

She vowed to continue their protest till their concerns were addressed. The PMA demands the promotion of doctors on the basis of a timescale promotion formula which the PMA leaders say has been stalled for the last 20 years. Other demands include the regularisation of postgraduate doctors against the vacant seats of medical officers and the regularisation of medical officers working with the Punjab Rural Support Programme.

‘We reached an agreement with the Health Department on the suggestion of the chief minister on April 15, 2009. The rules and regulations were laid out regarding the promotion and regularisation of postgraduate doctors and medical officers, assistant professors, senior registrars, specialist doctors working on contract or on ad hoc basis. Because of the bureaucratic handling of the regulation section of the department, the issue of regularisation has been put on the backburner.

‘We have the lists of all postgraduate doctors but the department is still defying the chief minister’s orders regarding the regularisation and the Punjab Public Service Commission seems to be in connivance with the department,’ said Dr Rashid.

She said PMA leaders met the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary and the health secretary to figure out a plan for the regularisation of postgraduate doctors.

‘The health secretary after extensive meetings for three days with the PMA forwarded a summary with recommendations but that has yet to bear any fruits.’ She alleged private medical colleges and some opportunist doctors were creating hurdles in the way of their own colleagues.

PMA Secretary Dr Haq Nawaz Bharwana said the delay in regularisation of doctors had resulted in poor healthcare delivery in government teaching hospitals. Dr Bharwana quoted a report that those hospitals had improved in the healthcare delivery where qualified medical superintendents were posted.

The bodies attending the march are: Pakistan Dental Association, Professors Association of Pakistan, Pakistan Orthopedic Association, Medical Teachers’ Association and the Young Doctors’ Association.

According to data prepared by the PMA from the documents provided by the health department, there are 2,855 post graduate doctors including 2,113 regular medical officers and 863 who have been working on contract basis. They all are eligible for their appointments in teaching cadre as assistant registrars, assistant professors as well as district specialists on the regular basis.

Moreover, of 2,113 regular medical officers at least 121 are either on leave, appointed on deputation or have expired.

Of 1,015 posts of the senior registrars, only 30 are filled on regular basis while 985 are either filled on contract basis, current charge basis or lying vacant.

Similarly, there are 616 posts of assistant professors, of which 131 are working on the regular basis and 485 seats are either filled on contract basis, current charge basis or are lying vacant.

In addition, there are 1,269 posts of district specialists out of which only 96 are filled on regular basis and 1,173 are either filled on contract basis, current charge basis or are lying vacant.