HYDERABAD, Dec 24: The president of Pakistan Medical Association’s Sindh chapter, Dr Noor Memon has said that the doctors serving with Sindh Health department are facing a lot of difficulties without any ray of hope for their resolution in the near future.

In a statement here on Monday, he said that the department officials have closed their doors on the doctors as their entry into Sindh Secretariat was banned and if they tried to enter, they were manhandled by guards and lower staff.

He said that as the doctors could not go in the secretariat, they could not meet and talk to the concerned officials about their problems regarding unsatisfactory working conditions, postings, promotions, career structure, post graduation etc.

The PMA leader said that it was high time the system was geared up and doctors were given due respect before they retaliated.

He said that the unimaginative use of domicile issue sometimes with ulterior motives by the Health department staff had created problems for doctors as well patients. If used judicially and with a good purpose the domicile would facilitate proper functioning of the health centres, he added.

Dr Memon complained that promotions of doctors were delayed on the pretext of non-receipt of annual confidential reports. Moreover asking the doctors to provide ACRs of previous years had no justification because their performance was judged and reported on yearly basis and had to be reported in prescribed period after which it lost its value.

He said that the promotion system also needed revamping and automation instead of asking the officers to run from pillar to post.

Dr. Memon said that the shortage of specialists in hospitals and teaching institutions resulting in patients being deprived of specialised treatment.

The specialists in general and teaching cadres did not opt for certain specialties due to absence of career structure for them, he said, adding that the general cadre specialists knew that they would enter grade 18 and retire in the same grade, more so when the move over system has been abolished, while those in teaching line had to wait for vacancy to be created for promotion.

Therefore, he said, these doctors preferred to stay in general cadre where they were sure to climb to grade 20.

“The doctors are not losers, only the patients are losers and also those specialists who are selected for service abroad but are not issued NOC on the plea of shortage of specialists” he added.

The president PMA Sindh said that the government should provide a career structure for these specialists with timely promotion to attract them to opt for these posts.

He demanded that the Health department should also prepare a list of such specialists working in general cadre and offer them equal status in the specialist cadre and fill the vacancies in taluka and civil hospitals and in teaching institutions.