LAHORE: Deaths of several babies at government hospitals of Sargodha and Faisalabad and constantly deteriorating healthcare in teaching institutions in Punjab have badly exposed the governance of ‘senior health managers’.

The Punjab government has formed in one-go seven `fact-finding’ committees giving priority to senior medics on officials of the Directorate of Health Services. The committees would deliberate upon issues and furnish concrete short, medium and long term recommendations according to the areas assigned to them.

A notification issued on Nov 22 revealed that this time government largely entrusted prime responsibilities to the heads of the tertiary care institutions and senior medical teachers of Punjab instead of relying upon the officials of the DG Health Office.

It also inducted officials from federal and other provinces in some huge size committees, an official who is close to the information told Dawn.

He said the ‘performance’ of adviser to chief minister on health Khawaja Salman Rafique, holding ‘portfolio’ of health minister for the last many years, also came under discussion in some recent meetings of the chief minister since the issue of babies’ death in state-run hospitals had put the Punjab government in trouble.

Health bureaucracy ignored in formation of ‘fact-finding’ committees

Quoting health secretary Jawad Rafique Malik, the official said that one of the major factors behind the sorry state of health affairs in state-run hospitals in Punjab was the appointment of junior health managers in the Directorate of Health Services, Punjab.

He said many of them were holding key positions without relevant qualification and field experience which had been declared mandatory in the laid-down rules and policies.

The government’s decision of giving preference to medical teachers on health officials of the directorate could be judged from the formation of the committees, he said.

According to the notification, the Punjab government constituted nine-member Autonomous Medical Institutions and Tertiary Healthcare Committee which comprised seven senior professors and two members of the provincial assembly. Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Dr Mahmood Shaukat will be coordinator. Other members are Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Prof Dr Anjum Habib Vohra, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal Prof Dr Hamid Mahmood Butt, Children’s Hospital Dean Prof Dr Masood Sadiq and Orthopedics Surgeon Prof Dr Amir Aziz.

King Edward Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Masood was appointed coordinator of eight-member Management Cadre/Human Resource /Training Committee. Professor of Pediatricts Dr Mohammad Ali and Professor of Surgery from SIMS Dr Mahmood Ayaz were also made members of the committee besides two MPAs from Nankana Sahib and Lahore.

The government constituted 13-member committee named Procurement/Purchase and Quality Assurance of Medicine appointing again KEMU VC Prof Dr Faisal Masood as its coordinator. The federal director general health was also made member of this huge size committee besides MPAs, doctors, pharmacists and officials from the provincial health department.

Children’s Hospital Dean Prof Dr Masood Sadiq was made coordinator of 11-member Pediatrics Emergency/ICU/Neonatology Committee which is also comprised of Children’s Hospital Medical Director Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Professor of Pediatrics from SIMS Dr Hamayun Iqbal, Professor Emeritus Prof Dr Kalimuddin Aziz from Karachi, Prof of Pediatrics from UK Dr Shakil Ahmad Qureshi and two MPAs will be its members besides other officials.

Punjab Information Technology Board Chairman Omar Saif was appointed Coordinator of 10-member E-Monitoring Committee. Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC) Principal Prof Dr Fakhar Imam, three MPAs from Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura and Rahim Yar Khan were also members of the committee besides other officials of departments concerned.

The Punjab government also constituted 13-member DHQ/THQ Hospitals and six-member Primary Healthcare committees keeping in view several serious complaints being reported by the public visiting there from low-profile localities of the province.

In an ‘informal’ meeting called on Monday, the heads of the committees were directed to furnish recommendations today (on Tuesday) to forward them to the Chief Minister for consideration.

Published in Dawn, November 25th , 2014