ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has yet to get replacements for consultants who have either retired or left the hospital and are doing private practice.

Some of the departments of the Pims, which is considered Pakistan’s one of the largest hospitals, don’t have a single specialist doctor. Even patients don’t get satisfied with the existing doctors and visit to private hospitals where some of the former consultants of Pims are doing practice.

Executive Director Pims Dr Raja Amjad agreed that the situation was not good at all and said that he had requested the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) to allow him to appoint some good consultants on contract basis.

The hospital has yet to get replacements for consultants who have either retired or left Pims

Media Coordinator Dr Waseem Khawaja, while talking to Dawn, said gastroenterologists like Dr Javed Butt, Dr Haider and Dr Tashfeen Adam had either retired or left the hospital.

He said pathologists Dr Anwarul Haq, Dr Shugufta, Dr Haroon, Dr Ashoke, Dr Kisana and Dr Lubna had left Pims.

“In Orthopedic Department, Dr Mateen has died and Dr Imran Sikandar has retired while ophthalmologist Dr Farooq has also retired.

“Nephrologists Dr Samiullah and Dr Imtiaz have retired while Dr Ghayasud Din Butt is now in Canada,” he said.

“One of the prominent Neuro Surgeons Dr Khaleequz Zaman and Paediatricians Dr Tabish Hazir, Dr Nasira and Dr Gul Been have retired,” Dr Khawaja said.

He said this year some more names such as Anaesthetist Dr Iqbal Memon, Dr Sohail and Radiologist Dr Zubair Butt will retire but no one had sought their replacements.

Another doctor of the hospital said on condition of anonymitythat hospital needed replacement of the doctors at the earliest and government should either hire doctors through Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) or on contract basis.

“Though the Ministry of NHS has been requested to allow the hospital to hire specialists doctors on contract basis, it seems a senior bureaucrat, who is going to retire next month, is reluctant to give approval to hiring as such decisions can become a problem for him after retirement,” he said.

Executive Director Pims Dr Raja Amjad said the management was doing efforts to get replacement of the consultants.

“The government should allow us to hire doctors on contract basis. I have talked to the ministry and it has given me a positive response. Moreover, I have also spoken to some personalities of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government and provided them all the record. I am sure that soon we will get approval to appoint doctors on contract due to which some of the big names will also join us,” he said.

He said that a number of seats in Cardiac Centre and Bone Marrow Transplant Centre were vacant.

In Cardiac Surgery there are 127 vacant seats of doctors and 250 seats of nursing staff.

“We even don’t have emergency consultants due to which hospital has been facing problems. Performance of the hospital would improve, once all the vacant posts are filled,” Dr Amjad said.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2019