LAHORE, Aug 3: The Punjab government has decided to conduct a third party audit of all autonomous medical and health institutions ‘in terms of finance and performance’.

The ‘performance audit’ has also been linked to the regular service structure of doctors. “Regular service structure for doctors will be restored with immediate effect, subject to performance audit,” according to the decision.

No external audit has been carried out of the teaching hospitals of the province since they were given financial and administrative autonomy in 1999.

This is in violation of the act which says: “The performance indicators for different intervals shall be laid down before the beginning of each interval and the government shall conduct a financial, managerial, medical/clinical and other audit through a third party. The selection criterion, including the composition of such an evaluation party, shall be notified by the government.”

It further says: “The audit reports shall be submitted to the government. The reports shall be given effect to by the medical institution through the principal executive officer.”

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed health secretary Anwaar Ahmed Khan to give a ‘top priority’ to conduct the third party audit of the medical and health institutions.

According to a source, the chief minister issued the direction in a meeting which was held on the issue of autonomy of medical and health institutions in the province. The meeting was attended by 36 health-related people, besides MNAs and MPAs.

The meeting decided that ‘meaningful autonomy’ with inbuilt system of evaluation would be granted to all the medical and health institutions with no role of health and finance departments management and functioning of the autonomous medical institutions committee (AMIC).

It also decided in principle that autonomy would further trickle down to lower level and the medical superintendents of all teaching hospitals would be empowered further so that the heads of the medical institutions could not interfere in their affairs.

It also decided that the proposed medical institute management board (MIMB) would be formed through an institutionalised framework, for minimising discretion at any level. Credentials of a member would thoroughly be examined before finalising the same. The meeting also decided that doctors would be bound to serve in remote areas for a specific period of time before their posting at tehsil and district level hospitals. Contract doctors would be regularised through a ‘screening body’ which would be constituted by the health secretary.

During the meeting some participants ‘misinformed’ the chief minister that the Higher Education Commission was providing huge funds to ‘seven medical universities’ of Sindh thereby the Punjab should open more varsities to get more funding from the HEC and other bodies.

The HEC, however, clarified that there were only two medical varsities – Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro – in Sindh and it was providing recurring and development funds to them. — ZULQERNAIN TAHIR