ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee came down hard on the administration at Pakistan Institute of Medical sciences (Pims) on Friday, directing it to improve its performance.

The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat chaired by Senator Kalsoom Parveen, concluded that the conditions at Pims and the performance of doctors had become an embarrassment.

“The doctors who are supposed to be messiahs have become butchers,” the Senator said.

She lamented that despite having a budget of billions of rupees Pims has failed to provide painkillers to patients. “Even patients suffering from diabetes and cancer have to use contacts to receive treatment, otherwise doctors don’t pay any heed to their sufferings,” she said.

Patients in Pims can be seen fighting each other for stretchers, while MRI and Angiographic machines are not working properly, she said.

The senator said it appears that doctors are too busy minting money at the expense of poor patients. “Pims resembles a shop in Raja Bazaar, where representatives of pharmaceuticals and a mafia of doctors are ruling,” she said.

Senator Rubina Khalid agreed with the comments of the chairperson saying that it has been observed that representatives of pharmaceuticals have been arranging foreign trips for doctors. “In some cases they have even paid for doctors’ wedding expenses,” she said.

She suggested that the entry of these representatives should be banned in all government hospitals. Pims Executive Director Dr Altaf said that he agreed that the hospital’s performance was not up to the mark, patients do get medicines at the hospital.

“Every day we receive around 1,000 patients at the emergency ward and 3700 patients in OPD,” he said

He added that it is imperative that administrative, educational and treatment section are separated from each other.

The newly appointed Secretary Capital Administration and Development Division Hamid Ali Khan told the committee that he was aware of problems being faced by patients at Pims and Polyclinic. He said that he would bring visible changes in both hospitals within two months otherwise he would prefer to leave charge of the hospitals.

Talking about the expansion of Polyclinic, the secretary said that a summary for using Argentina Park’s land for expansion of the hospital had been sent to the prime minister for final approval.

During the last two years a total of 30 written complaints were lodged in the two hospitals by patients and their relatives. According to documents available with Dawn no serious or exemplary action was taken in response to the complaints. Although in all cases, inquiries were conducted and those cases in which doctors and staff were found guilty warnings were issued.

Published in Dawn, November 1st , 2014