PESHAWAR, Feb 28: The institutional-based private practice of the govt-employed doctors begins from Friday as the deadline set for the public sector doctors to stop private practice in their personal clinics lapsed on Thursday.

Necessary arrangements have been made across the province and in the adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas to implement the NWFP health department’s decision.

Under a notification issued on Feb 9, an across-the-board ban was imposed on the private practice of provincial govt-employed doctors outside the public sector health institutions.

“A majority of the public sector doctors is expected to start institutional-based private practice. A very few senior doctors may not opt to follow the government’s instructions,” said official sources.

However, according to a senior health department functionary involved in making arrangements viz-a-viz institutional-based private practice from March 1, none of the doctors, from amongst a large number of disgruntled govt-employed doctors, has so far tendered resignation from the government job as was speculated by certain quarters in view of their (disgruntled doctors’) stand that they would prefer to relinquish the government service instead of opting for the institutional-based private practice.

According to the institutional-based private practice’s rules drawn up by the health department, every patient would pay Rs200 as consultation fee of which 20 per cent each would go to the hospital fund and subordinate staff whereas the remaining 60pc would go to the doctor.

Besides, an amount of Rs6 would be deducted at source from the Rs120 consultation fee per patient, leaving the doctor with a total consultation fee of Rs114 per patient.

The Rs6 per patient would be deducted as upfront income tax at the rate of five per cent, which would raise a substantial amount of revenue for the public exchequer.

According to official sources, arrangements have also been made to conduct raids to know who amongst the public sector doctors chose to violate the government ban on their private practice.

However, there appeared to be some confusion among the public sector doctors in respect of the deadline set for them by the provincial government for winding up their private clinics.

The confusion stemmed from an official handout issued by the provincial directorate of information concerning a meeting between Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah and a representative delegation of doctors, on Tuesday.

The handout had held that whereas institutional-based private practice of government-employed doctors would become effective from March 1, 2002, they would be allowed to wind up their private clinics by March 30.

Clarifying the position, the provincial health department issued a circular which reads: “...(the) ban on the private practice outside the hospitals (of the public sector doctors) is effective from March 1 and no government doctor is allowed to sit in his private clinic from that date. They can only undertake practice within the hospital concerned in the evening. The 30-day period (up to March 30, 2002) is for the purpose of giving them time to dispose of/take care of their establishments and equipment in their private clinics properly. They are not allowed to sit in the clinics. They will remove their signboards from their clinics.”