PESHAWAR, Feb 21: The NWFP government has prepared a list of 300 senior doctors to be sent to National Accountability Bureau in case they resigned to protest against the government ban on private practice in private hospitals.

The government had set a deadline of 15 days on Feb 9, which expires on Feb 24, asking the government-employed doctors not to do private practice in private sector hospitals.

Official sources told Dawn that the government had decided not to leave “the selfish doctors in peace”, and brought them to book even if they resigned from their service.

An official claimed that many senior doctors had evaded income tax, and had accumulated wealth which was beyond their known sources of income.

In case of resignation of senior doctors their subordinates would be promoted occupying their positions.

The sources said the government had also been looking into yearly income tax returns of the top practising doctors, and it was found out that most of them evaded taxes.

“If NAB starts questioning about the properties of these doctors, it will be hard for them to justify keeping in view the meagre income tax which they have paid,” they said.

The NWFP government has started making arrangements to implement the recently-announced ban on private practice of doctors employed in the public sector, official sources said.

According to an official press release, the NWFP Health Department secretary visited three teaching hospitals in the public sector here on Thursday, and inspected arrangements made so far for the institution-based private practice of government doctors.

A notification of the NWFP Health Department on Feb 9, 2002, banning the private practice of the public sector doctors of all cadres and specialities, required them to regularize their private practice in the public sector.

The chief executives of all the three teaching hospitals— Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical complex—   briefed the secretary about the arrangements already made for the institution-based private practice of the public sector doctors.

In the notification, the provincial government had set a 15-day   deadline for the government-employed doctors to wind up their private clinics.

All the three hospitals made separate booths for central registry of patients to help the government-employed doctors to carry out their private practice within the public sector institutions after the 15-day deadline, the press release says.

“Computers have been installed for maintenance of proper record. The prescription chits and other proformas were in the process of printing.

“The secretary health directed that sign boards detailing names and room numbers of practitioners be installed at prominent places, and people should be deployed as guides for patients coming in the evening to take them to the proper  place”, the press release said.

The secretary, on this occasion, directed that duty rota of the administrative staff be notified, and every body should be informed before hand of his specific responsibilities.  

The Bank of Khyber, according to sources, would provide the boards and uniform for the staff dedicated to evening practice within the hospitals.

The secretary desired that a dress rehearsal be held on Feb 28  for final examination.

“The government really means business this time, and the ban would be implemented in letter and spirit as all those (from among the government-employed doctors) who failed to pack up their private clinics would be acted against under the services rules,” said a senior officer of the provincial ministry.