LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) says the decision of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for doctors to appear in an exam after one-year house job will create problems.

PMA office-bearers told a press conference at the PMA House on Tuesday that in the current system the doctors were being issued house job certificates by the professors and the medical superintendents of the institutes.

The new policy of the PMDC has created unrest among the medics.

They demanded the previous system be retained.

KEMU: The Punjab chapter of the Pakistan Physical Therapy Association (PPTA) has asked King Edward Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Masood to form a physiotherapists’ committee to prepare draft for the proposed Pakistan Physical Therapy Council.

In a meeting held the other day, PPTA Punjab office-bearers observed that the KEMU vice chancellor has formed a committee for the purpose, appointing an orthopedic surgeon of the institute its head.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, PPTA Punjab chapter president Dr Amir Saeed said the association had noted with grave concern that there was no physiotherapist in the committee tasked with preparing the proposed council’s draft.

He said health department had referred the matter to the KEMU vice chancellor with directions to form a committee comprising only senior physiotherapists from public sector institutions in the province.

The recommendations of the proposed committee will be sent to National Health Services Regulation and Coordination ministry.

Dr Saeed said the PPTA had submitted the council’s draft to the ministry which later sent it to all the provinces, besides AJ&K and Gilgit Baltistan for comments.

He said all the provinces had submitted their comments except Punjab.

SZH: The Finance Department has created 589 new positions of various categories at Shaikh Zayed Hospital.

According to a notification, the posts have been created through schedule of new expenditure (SNE) 2015-16 at a cost of Rs458.5 million.

The new positions which also include 50 for medical officers and 200 for nurses will help make fully functional the second floor of the SZH which has been completed to run wards of various disciplines.

SZH Chairman Prof Dr Farid Ahmad Khan has ordered the relevant admin officials to fill the positions as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2015

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