ISLAMABAD, Dec 12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed concerns over the trend of private practice by doctors working for public hospitals and said it seemed to be discriminatory for the patients.

A three-member bench of the apex court -- hearing a complaint about criminal negligence on the part of some doctors of the Chakwal District Headquarters Hospital -- also directed federal Health Secretary Anwar Mehmood to assist it as to why a uniform policy should not be formed for the whole country to institutionalise the private practice of doctors.

The court also directed provincial health secretaries and secretary of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to submit replies in this regard by the first week of February next. “Patients at the government hospitals are suffering because of discriminatory policy of private medical practice by government doctors,” observed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, adding that the court would not allow the discriminatory trend to prevail.

At the last hearing, the bench had served contempt of court notices on doctors who had held a three-day strike against orders of the apex court, which had left patients suffering and reportedly caused some deaths.

The strike was observed when the local police arrested Dr Mohammad Amir after the Supreme Court took up the matter following deaths of three children -- Hamza Ali, Nauman and Bushra Mubin -- due to alleged negligence of doctors. Punjab’s additional advocate-general Khadim Hussain Qaiser told the bench that 28 doctors of the Chakwal hospital, accused of staging the protest against registration of a criminal case against their colleagues, had been transferred to other districts as per direction of the Supreme Court and criminal cases had also been registered against Dr Tauqeer Minhas, Dr Saadat Ali, Dr Amir and Dr Mushtaq for committing professional negligence.

A report of the Punjab health department was also presented in the court in which it was stated that the private practice was allowed only after normal duty hours at government hospitals. However, in different provinces, rules and policies about the private practice were different. The report was read out by advocate Babar Awan, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae (friend of the court).