PESHAWAR: The provincial health department will launch courses of Member of College of Physicians and Surgeons (MCPS) for doctors to produce specialists for the rural health facilities of the province, according to sources.

They said that trainee with MBBS degree would be awarded MCPS degree on the basis of which they could be posted as specialists in district level hospitals located in rural areas of the province.

“A summary is being approved by the finance department to induct 444 doctors for two-year MCPS course and post the specialists in remote areas. It has been decided that every year the same number of doctors will be inducted,” said sources.

Decision aims at providing specialists to rural hospitals

Officials said that health department was sending specialist doctors to rural health centres but it was facing problems because those having FCPS, a major degree, were not willing to work outside the teaching hospitals where they also worked as medical teachers.

“MCPS, a middle grade diploma, enables the doctors to be posted in district level facilities,” they said. They added that unlike their colleagues having FCPS degree, such doctors were not allowed to be posted in teaching hospitals but they could provide specialised services at the grassroots level.

The doctors will have FCPS courses in gynea, pediatrics, eye, ENT, radiology, pathology and some disciplines in dentistry to create manpower for the government’s plan to provide specialised services to patients in far off areas.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan will conduct the examination for MCPS and Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) will induct doctors for the course.

The MCPS courses were in progress in the province till 2011 when government stopped stipend to the candidates and doctors stopped coming for the training. The doctors pursuing FCPS courses were being paid stipend starting from Rs50,000 in first year to more than Rs100, 000 a month during their five-year training.

After stoppage of stipend, the doctors lost interest in MCPS. Some of them started it but soon discontinued the course.

Prof Riaz Anwar Khan, the dean of PGMI, told Dawn that chief minister had issued instructions about providing specialised services to people in the rural hospitals under the new health structure for which paid posts would be approved.

“They will get training in teaching hospitals and would be deployed as specialists after they pass the examination,” he added.

Prof Riaz said that syllabus and courses for the doctors would be ‘milder’ than that of FCPS but they would be qualified for district specialist posts. Under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council rule, the MCPS degree-holders aren’t eligible to work as medical teachers but they qualify to be recruited as specialists.

Dr Riaz said that heath department also launched a programme under which the doctors were sent for postgraduate training to combined military hospitals and Karachi to produce specialists in the areas for which training facilities were short back home.

“It is very important to create human resources for future needs of specialists. Every year, doctors will be enrolled for training. We want to train more specialists to work in all disciplines,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2016