ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will be involving public representatives, including MNAs and MPAs, in implementing its policy of all teaching hospitals and their affiliated private medical colleges providing half their patients free treatment.

The public representatives are to nominate deserving patients for the council to issue cards to in order to ensure they are given free treatment in teaching hospitals. If this is done, over 17,000 beds will be available for those patients who cannot afford treatment.

On Nov 16, the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services had directed the council to designate focal persons in all the provinces in order to check if the rule for 50pc of beds being set aside for free treatment is being implemented.

The matter was raised by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Senator Nauman Wazir who said teaching hospitals do not provide free services to deserving patients and suggested steps be taken to address the issue.

The committee had then directed the council to ensure the implementation of its rules and that the focal persons should submit their report on the implementation of the rule to the committee members.

Talking to Dawn, PMDC President Dr Shabir Lehri said that the council rules required each medical college to establish a 500-bed teaching hospital and that half the patients in the hospital are to be treated for free, including tests and apart from the provision of medicines.

“The rule is rarely implemented even though we have put up banners and posters outside teaching hospitals and even told medical colleges that they should clearly set aside half the beds for free treatment,” he said.

Some of the medical colleges have come to an agreement with the hospitals, which are already providing free treatment, such as the Railway Hospital, he added.

“We have decided to involve public representatives, including MPAs, MNAs, councillors and nazims to ensure that the policy for providing half the patients with free treatment is implemented,” he said.

Dr Lehri said that public representatives will be requested to nominate deserving people in their constituencies to whom the council will issue cards on which they will be able to get free treatment, much like the Prime Minister’s National Health Insurance Scheme.

“In case they are refused free treatment by teaching hospitals, the card holders can lodge their complaints with the public representatives as well as with the council,” the PMDC chief said.

There are some 70 private medical colleges, each with an affiliated 500-bed teaching hospital, half of which are to be set aside for deserving patients.

“If the rule is implemented, over 17,000 beds will be used for providing free treatment,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2016