PESHAWAR: The health department has initiated disciplinary action against doctors and health professionals to improve healthcare after huge increase in their monetary benefits.

Dr Adnan Taj, medical superintendent of City Hospital, was removed for his poor performance. “The condition at the hospital was not up to the mark owing to which MS was removed. He would be posted somewhere else,” Dr Said Ali Khan, the director-general health services, who visited the facility on Friday night, told Dawn.

He said that there was no political pressure regarding health matters. He said that everyone showing bad performance would face disciplinary action. “Employees at the basic health unit, Saeedabad Naguman will also face action because there was no one when we vested it at 8:30am on Saturday,” he added.

Dr Said Ali said that divisional monitoring committees formed by the health department also inspected facilities in their respective districts to ensure presence of staff. “During the last few weeks, we have carried out inspection of basic health, units, rural health centres and dispensaries to monitor the activities there and take steps to resolve the problems,” he added.

Director-general health says department wants to improve healthcare

He said that pay of paramedics and other staff would be deducted if they remained away from their duty places without leave and prior permission while the doctors would face transfer as punishment. He said that action taken against the employees would be made part of their service record that could affect their promotion etc.

Dr Said Ali said that some of the employees, who were habitually non-performers, would get more punishment and the good employees would be rewarded. He said that all the district health officers had been directed to strengthen monitoring of health facilities.

“We have placed ban on postings and transfers of paramedics and other staff to ensure continuous services to the people at the public health facilities,” he said. According to him, the employees were in the habit of visiting the offices of director-general health and DHOs in connection with their postings and transfers and left their places of duty empty owing to which patients suffered.

Sources said that health department was under pressure from the government to improve healthcare facilities, especially following huge increase in salaries of doctors. Doctors posted in backward district now get Rs100, 000 more than what they were getting before.

Scores of doctors, who belonged to backward districts but worked in central districts, have opted to be posted in their home districts and get their salaries more than doubled. Similarly, Rs10, 000 professional allowance had been approved for paramedics and nurses, said sources.

They said that stipend of student nurses had been increased from Rs5,000 to Rs20,000. They said that all those were meant to improve patients’ care.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2017