ISLAMABAD: Employees of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have suspended elective surgeries in the hospital, until Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) act is repealed.

Employees have already closed the outpatient departments (OPDs) due to which thousands of patients have been suffering on daily basis. They also criticised President Dr Arif Alvi who refused to sign the MTI Repeal Bill and sent it back to the government for reconsideration.

In November 2020, Dr Alvi had promulgated the MTI Ordinance suggesting that the hospital will be run through a board of governors (BoG).

According to the ordinance, the BoG had to deal with all affairs of Pims. Members were appointed and notified by the Ministry of National Health Services on the recommendation of a search and nomination council.

Even though employees protested against the ordinance, it had sailed through the parliament. The current government passed the MTI Repeal Bill and sent it to the president of Pakistan in order to get his nod but he (Dr Alvi) returned it with a suggestion to reconsider it. Now, the government has been left with no option but to pass the bill again in a joint session to make it an Act of law.

Spokesperson for the Federal Health Alliance (FHA) Dr Asfandyar Khan, while talking to Dawn, said that on Thursday elective surgeries remained suspended.

“Moreover OPDs have been closed for the last three days. We are not in favour of closing OPDs but have been left with no option. Govt should find a way out to address our issue and also dissolve the Board of Governors,” he said.

On an average 300 elective surgeries are held in the hospitals and around 10,000 patients daily visit to the OPDs.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2022