ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has asked Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel to restore the old service structure and experience-based promotion policy for doctors in federal and provincial hospitals.

He has also been requested to make the health allowance of doctors as per their basic salaries as such a policy was being implemented in other government organisations. Members of the association made these demands during a meeting with the minister.

The PMA delegation was led by PMA President Dr Akhtar Ali Bandesha. Other members of delegation were: PMA Senior Vice President Dr Syeda Lubna Hussain, General Secretary Dr Mubashar Mushtaq Daha and Joint Secretary Dr Syed Abid Shah.

Dr Bandesha said that the Federal Medical Teaching Institution (FMTI) Act, 2021, which was introduced by the past government, would promote nepotism and favouritism. He alleged that the Act had damaged the service structure of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff besides increasing difficulties for patients.

During the meeting, the matter of the National Licencing Examination (NLE) was also discussed besides categorisation system of government and private medical colleges by Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC).

“PMC should start the old final registration system after house jobs for doctors instead of the prevailing faulty NLE, which is now mandatory for medical students,” he said.

The delegation highlighted that provinces should be granted full autonomy for admissions in medical colleges. The PMA president urged the minister to cancel the policy of students attaining a minimum of 65pc marks for appearing in the MDCAT test and suggested that the test should be held at the provincial level.He said that the PMC has made the grading system doubtful and it must not be so.

The minister was also told that the quota of seats for overseas Pakistanis in medical colleges was abolished and needed to be restored. Furthermore, he was told that medical degrees of students who graduated from colleges in Kyrgyzstan should also be recognised and all hospitals and medical colleges that are accredited with the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSP) should be recognised.

Mr Patel assured the delegation that their demands will be resolved for the betterment of medical professionals and for the sake of improving the healthcare system of the country.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2022