LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) is likely to suffer another major blow to its ‘national status’ as after the Sindh government the health department has also discussed a proposal to establish the “Punjab Medical and Dental Council”.

The Sindh government has already established the “Sindh Medical and Dental Council (SM&DC)”, challenging the federal authority of the only medical regulatory body in Pakistan for practitioners and students of medicine and dentistry.

An official, who is in the know of things, told Dawn that the proposal for the PMDC’s devolution to the provincial level was floated by the health department to ‘twist arms’ of the Council after it issued “de-recognition notices” to some public sector medical universities and colleges of Punjab on the pretext of faculty shortage and other deficiencies.

Read: PMDC to de-notify seven universities

He said the King Edward Medical University (1860), the fourth oldest medical institute in South Asia, was among other universities which received “de-recognition” notices by the PMDC.

While the Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), the newly established Amiruddin Medical College, Allama Iqbal Medical College and DG Khan Medical College also received similar warnings of serious nature in the notices.

Surprisingly, the undergraduate Amiruddin Medical College has not even a single medical teacher and the faculty of PGMI is teaching its students. The PGMI is also facing a shortage of 35 senior medics, including eight professors and 15 associate professors, revealed the PMDC notice.

Proposal floated to set up parallel council in Punjab as well

Earlier, the Fatima Jinnah Medical College for Women had been warned for major punishments, including its closure and transfer of its around 300 students to other colleges, for not following the rules and regulations of the PMDC.

Also read: PMDC warns FJMC of ‘closure’

The PMDC had also derecognized the newly-established medical college in Sahiwal in April due to shortage of faculty. The council had written to the Ministry of National Health Services and Regulations and Coordination Wing for the cancellation of registration of the Sahiwal Medical College for not abiding by its rules and regulations.

Established under the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council Ordinance 1962 as a body corporate, it was known and respected worldwide. It was also a part of the International Community of Medical Regulatory Authorities.

The official said the Council’s notices issued in “one go” to many public sector medical institutions brought authorities of both the Punjab government and the PM&DC on the verge of conflict.

He said the health department first analyzed contents of de-recognition notices and finally observed that the PM&DC was communicating to the institute in a threatening tone which would not be tolerated. “This has forced the health authorities to give response to the Council in a same way,” the official said.

“We have discussed in a few meetings the establishment of the Punjab Medical & Dental Council in line with the SM&DC,” Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik confirmed to Dawn.

He said the formation of SM&DC had opened an option for other provinces to follow suit.

Though the proposal is in its initial stage, the health department is taking it serious in the larger interest of the medical institutions and students, he said.

The official said the health department knew well that some medical institutions were facing shortage of faculty but the issue was not as much chronic as was being portrayed by the PM&DC.

PM&DC Registrar Dr Raja Amjad Mahmood refused to comment on the issue.

Some experts believe that if the scheme is materialized in Punjab after Sindh, it will prove disastrous for the entire medical education in the country.

The PM&DC’s closure would be taken as irreparable loss to the standard of medical education in Pakistan, they said.

Published in Dawn December 13th , 2014