PESHAWAR: The organisations representing doctors have resented the “unceremonious” removal of Postgraduate Medical Institute chief executive officer Prof Sahibzada Mahmood Noor and demanded his immediate restoration.

Representatives of the Provincial Doctors’ Association (PDA), Young Doctors’ Association (YDA), Insaf Doctors Forum (IDF) and Malgari Doctaran told Dawn that removal of Prof Sahibzada Mahmood Noor before the completion of his tenure as the PGMI head was a “sheer injustice” as he had nothing to do with the induction of 194 trainee medical officers for postgraduate training.

They insisted that the last caretaker government ordered the induction of those TMOs and the PGMI chief had to comply with the orders.

Following a cabinet decision made on August 29, the health department issued a notification on Friday, declaring that the remaining tenure of Prof Sahibzada Mehmood Noor as the PGMI CEO is hereby terminated and he has been repatriated to the Lady Reading Hospital as a dermatology professor (BPS-20).

Insist Prof Noor just acted on caretakers’ orders to induct TMOs

Leaders of doctor organisations argued that the PGMI chief had been made a “scapegoat” on the TMOs’ induction.

According to them, the PGMI inductees with MBBS, MD and BDS for postgraduate training in January and July every year on the basis of their academic and Etea test performance. However, the recurring problem is that the number of applicants is rising, so the stipendiary slots aren’t enough to accommodate all candidates.

Leaders of the doctor organisations said every TMO was paid a monthly stipend in line with the category of hospital and the training-year.

They said PGMI had 6,205 budgeted positions for which funds were provided by the finance department in the shape of grant-in-aid.

The leaders said for the Jan 2024 session, 1,287 aspirants applied against 636 vacant stipendiary slots and there was a short fall of 651 positions.

According to them, the PGMI initially requested the department for creation of 480 more stipendiary positions and the latter moved on a summary to the caretaker chief minister who convened a meeting on Feb 2 which decided that creation of 480 positions either without any stipend or a maximum stipend of Rs5,000 per month.

The approved minutes were communicated on Feb 12 for implementation.

Leaders of doctor organisations said the approved scheme was announced on the PGMI’s website for consideration of leftover candidates, with the direction to submit an affidavit on stamp paper declaring won’t demand stipend like their regular colleagues.

They said only 194 candidates gave consent whose induction orders were issued, while compliance with the decision was conveyed to the CM’s Secretariat in Feb 21.

The leaders of doctor organisations said the issue of stipend payment was reconsidered by the caretaker cabinet in a meeting on Feb 22 before deciding that the remaining inductees would be paid basic stipend, without accommodation allowance and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan’s mandatory workshop fee.

They said the formal creation of stipendiary positions and provision of funds for 194 inductees hadn’t been made by the finance department.

YDA president Asfandyar Bittani criticised the government over its failure to find a permanent solution to the TMO induction issue.

A representative of Malgari Doctaran said Prof Noor was a distinguished dermatologist, who served PGMI with dedication.

He said violators of “merit” on the induction issue should be punished after investigation.

Also, the IDF called for an inquiry into the matter saying the PGMI chief’s “unceremonious” removal had caused unrest among doctors.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024