LAHORE: The Punjab government is drafting a law aimed at changing the management model of teaching hospitals, allowing doctors private practice in hospitals.

Official sources on Wednesday informed Dawn that the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act will replace the Autonomous Medical Institutions Act 2004, allowing improvement in the working of government hospitals. Authorities concerned were actively discussing various clauses of the new law which the present government was determined to enforce.

The uncontested parts of the proposed law include permission to doctors to opt for private practice in the teaching hospitals. And they would get a share of it as per their rank. Those opting otherwise would merely receive their salaries.

There was also agreement on introducing directors for various sections of the teaching hospitals such as hospital director, medical director and nursing director.

The teaching hospitals would have boards of management, but with a different format, discouraging the existing trend of selecting people from the private sector without any required qualification.

The present boards of management comprised members picked by the previous government on political grounds. In certain cases these handpicked members guarded their own interests rather than the hospitals or patients, sources claimed.

Sources said that the authorities were also trying to figure out how to improve the financial health of the teaching hospitals. Another point being deliberated was whether to allow the boards of management to formulate policies of their respective teaching hospitals.

One group insisted that the permission would end uniformity of government policy in all government hospitals. Therefore, it would be better to constitute a policy board at the provincial level to prevent the hospitals treading their course at will.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2019