ISLAMABAD: Ending the rumours of privatisation of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday said that public sector hospitals were the only hope for the poor.

“No proposal is being considered to run the Pims hospital through public-private partnership,” he announced.

As the facility of the health card has been suspended for the residents of the federal capital, Azad Jammu Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan, the minister announced that he will look into the issue in the coming days.

While talking to media persons after visiting the hospital, he said that dealing with the health sector was the most difficult task and claimed that he never took any task easy.

“Health is linked with the lives of people, so there is an extra responsibility on doctors. I suggested they ensure that every patient is received with a smile. I became a Member of (Sindh) Provincial Assembly (MPA) around 23 years ago and the mayor of Karachi almost two decades later. I have learnt that a road can be reconstructed and quality of education can be improved by addressing the blunders, but in the health sector we don’t get second chances because we cannot return life to anyone,” he said.

In reply to a question, the minister said that people visit hospitals because of pain and severe health-related issues.

“The elite class can go to the private hospitals, but the poor don’t get an option to get treatment from private hospitals. They only get an opportunity to reach public sector hospitals. I want to make sure that everyone would leave the hospital thinking positively about the staff and me,” he said.

Replying to a question, Mustafa Kamal admitted that it was not possible to provide treatment to every patient because of the enormous patient load. He said he wanted to introduce telemedicine, as he got a briefing that 70 per cent of patients could be reduced through telemedicine. He said that state-of-the-art facilities would be provided in the operation theatres of the hospital and added that there was no plan to run Pims through a public-private partnership.

Last year, the health ministry started working on outsourcing diagnostic services at Pims, rural health centres (RHCs), and basic health units (BHUs). The employees of the hospital had announced their resistance to the decision, claiming it was another move for privatisation of the hospital.

Health Secretary Iftikhar Ali Shallawani had said the ministry was undergoing a paradigm shift under the prime minister and his then coordinator Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath through public-private partnerships to bring efficiency and reduce costs for the poor.

According to documents available with Dawn, last year Dr Bharath [who is currently the state minister for health] visited Pims on March 29, 2024, and directed its management to construct a virtual tower for super specialities in the hospital. He also ordered an evening outpatient department (OPD) and outsourcing of the diagnostic unit of Pims.

The document stated that necessary instructions may be passed to the concerned to take necessary action on direction of the health coordinator. After getting the written direction, Pims Executive Director Prof Dr Rana Imran Sikander had issued a written directive to submit a detailed plan for outsourcing the diagnostics.

Letters written to the head of the Pathology Department, Dr Ahmareen Khalid Sheikh, and the head of the Radiology Department, Prof Ayesha Isani, available with Dawn, stated: “You are hereby advised to submit a detailed plan for outsourcing of diagnostic services of Pathology Department/Radiology Department of Pims as per the directives of the honourable coordinator to prime minister within two days positively.”

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2025