PESHAWAR: The doctors and paramedics of the Hayatabad Medical Complex have resented the suspension of their share in the charges of tests done by the radiology and pathology departments and demanded its restoration.

According to them, the move has demotivated them and could lead to reduction in diagnostic procedures and thus, benefitting private hospitals.

The complex’s administration says the staff members, who have opted for the institution-based practice, will get share in income generated from patient investigations.

According to them, the board of governors ordered the suspension of the employees’ share in user charges from Jan 1 this year and thus, denying doctors, nurses, paramedics and administrative staff incentives for their pathological and diagnostic work.

Admin says those doing IBP to get payments from income generated by patient investigations

Earlier, 60 per cent of the income went to the government, 25 per cent to doctors, 10 per cent to paramedics, three per cent to repairs and maintenance and two per cent to administrative staff.

The employees said they had conveyed their grievances to the health minister, board and medical director with demand for the fee share restoration, but to no avail.

A letter written by employees of the pathology departmentto the HMC’s administration said radiation/pathogen hazards allowance and share was their legitimate right as they stayed exposed hepatitis, Congo, TB, Covid-19 and cancer-causing radiations.

“All over the country, our counterparts in hospitals get these allowances. During Covid-19 pandemic, [HMC] diagnostic staff played vital roles in PCR, chemistry and microbiology lab, X-Ray and CT scan departments but their services went un-recogniosed,” it said.

The employees opposed the administration’s move to pay fixed allowance for clinicians doing IBP as those consultants had already received fee for patient consultation and surgical procedure.

They said the IBP was a private practice done in the evening shift and it couldn’t be linked with the share of diagnostic test fee.

The employees said both radiology and pathology were underdeveloped and the discontinuation of fee share would further disappoint those wanting to pursue careers in diagnostics as was the case in Lady Reading Hospital, where pathologist Dr Hameedullah Shah quit job a month after the administration denied that fee share.

In the letter, they said things in HMC could go the LRH’s way badly affecting patient care and post- and undergraduate teaching.

The employees said consequently, private sectors would benefit as patients paid more charges for the same tests.

They said rate of biopsy in HMC ranged between Rs300 and Rs500.

“In private facilities, patients pay Rs3000-5000. Charges of radiological tests are four times higher than public sector hospitals. The rate of MRI (brain) is Rs3,000 in HMC and Rs10,000 in private hospitals. Patients give Rs10,000 in private hospitals and Rs3000 in HMC,” the letter said.

The employees also said doctors would lose interest in doing specialisation in diagnostics for lack of benefits and that at present, there were 49 postgraduate trainees’ pathology and 46 in radiology.

They said such policies tended to hamper training of doctors.

The employees referred a recent Supreme Court ruling that any incentives granted once cannot be withdrawn and has requested to restore share in accordance with the laid down formula.

When contacted, Prof Shehzad Akbar Khan said the decision about fee share abolition was taken by the BoG.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2021