LAHORE: The Punjab government seems to have succumbed to the pressure of the violent agitations of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) as the two health ministers of the province reportedly transferred the matter of the irregular induction of 107 private candidates at the Services Hospital Lahore to the health department for final decision.

There are reports that 107 doctors from the private medical colleges got inducted against the rules when they had to complete their house job at the teaching hospitals of their colleges where they had paid hefty fees. Now these graduates of the private colleges are demanding completion certificates of their ‘illegal house job’ while Services Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Munir Ahmad Malik resisted the pressure of the YDA to do the ‘illegal act’.

These 107 medics were inducted by bypassing the house job committee, comprising senior medical teachers, and the YDA chapter of the Services Hospital attacked the office of MS multiple times when he refused to issue them certifications, categorically declaring them as irregular inductions in the findings of his inquiry report.

Punjab health ministers Khawaja Salman Rafique and Khawaja Imran Nazir intervened when a group of YDA members besieged the office of the Services Hospital MS on Friday and he called the police and filed a written complaint against the YDA medics for making him hostage and abusing and disgracing/disrespecting his office.

MS’s resistance to private colleges’ candidates may prove fruitless; reports suggest 107 private candidates to get ‘one-time exemption’ in connivance with YDA

An official said that as the YDA leaders noticed that the situation was getting out of hand after the MS had approached the police, they rushed to the health ministers to intervene and resolve the issue. After a detailed meeting with the YDA leaders, he added, the two ministers barred the MS from dealing with the issue and referred the matter to Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal Prof Dr Zohra Khanum.

Surprisingly, the principal further referred the matter to Punjab Specialised Healthcare Medical Education Secretary Ali Jan, requesting him to resolve the issue at the departmental level, a step that strengthened the reports that the high-ups were trying to facilitate the YDA men.

In the letter, Dr Khunum apprised the health secretary giving a reference to an official inquiry/letter issued by the Services Hospital MS written on Jan 26 to her office regarding irregular induction of 107 doctors of private hospitals at the institute.

“It is hereby requested for further guidance/a committee may be constituted to recommend the way forward,” reads the letter from the principal.

The official claimed that the health department was considering a proposal to give ‘one-time exemption’ to give completion certificates to107 doctors of the private hospitals who were illegally inducted at the Services Hospital. He said the health ministers intervened as they were avoiding confrontation with the YDA.

Some senior teachers believe that the act of the health ministers may open a new Pandora’s box as any decision to bulldoze the law/policy would surely inflict a major dent to the years-long efforts to ensure merit, the official added.

“I am not dealing with the matter now as it has been transferred to the office of the SIMS principal,” Services MS Dr Malik confirmed to Dawn. He said he had already submitted a detailed report, declaring the house job of 107 private candidates illegal and in violation of the policy.

“Now this matter would be decided either by the principal or by the health department,” the MS said.

Prof Zohra also confirmed that the matter of house job of 107 candidates of private medical colleges had been referred to her principal office.

On the other hand, the YDA leaders declared it a ‘win,’ saying it had been decided that the certificates would be issued to all those doctors who completed house job at the Services Hospital.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the Services YDA office-bearers, including president Dr Adeel Qureshi, vice chairman Dr Imran, general secretary Rana Rashid, chairman YDA Punjab Dr Mudasar Nawaz and senior leader Atif Majeed Chaudhry, said the matter of house job of 107 candidates of the private colleges had almost been resolved on the intervention of the health ministers. He said the SIMS principal and the MS were also present in the meeting of the YDA with health ministers, Khawaja Salman Rafique and Khawaja Imran Nazir.

It is interesting to mention here that a four-member committee, headed by University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Rathore, was already assigned a task to probe Friday’s incident wherein the YDA men besieged the office of the MS.

“We have been directed by the health authorities to stop forthwith the inquiry into the incident that occurred at the Services Hospital,” the committee’s head Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore told this reporter.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2024