KARACHI, April 6: The Pakistan Medical Association has sought restriction on private practice on part of physicians and surgeons associated with government health care facilities so as to prevent reported exploitation of poor patients visiting these centres. The office-bearers of PMA responding to the queries raised by journalists at a press conference here on Wednesday said that the PMA expected government to ensure realistic salary package and remuneration for the public sector doctors following which even a ban could be imposed on their private practice.

PMA’s Secretary General Dr Shershah Syed, Pakistan

College of Family Medicine President Dr Aziz Khan Tank, PMA Karachi’s Secretary General Dr Qaiser Sajjad and Dr Habibur Rehman Soomro talking to journalists also expressed reservations regarding the public-private partnership concept.

“Quality education, health and accessibility to justice ought to remain state responsibilities towards the masses,” they said.

Opposing the private-public partnership in health and education, Dr Sher Shah Syed said that it was the responsibility of government. “If any doctor is involved in corruption or maltreatment of patients, the government should take appropriate action against him or her, while the PMA will not support such doctors,” he added.

He said that the government should end part-time job concept in government health facilities. In this context, he acknowledged malpractices on part of certain doctors and said that the professional bodies demanded strict accountability at all ranks coupled with stringent measures on part of the government to contain the rampant trend of part-time jobs at government hospitals and related facilities.

Strict vigilance should be ensured that all doctors, paramedics, nurses, lab staffers, technicians and all those associated with public sector health centres work on full time basis, they said.

While seeking standardization of all private sector health care centres and hospitals, they said that public interest and due sanctity to human lives must be the top most priority at both private and public sector institutions.

Referring to the discrepancy registered in health sector, they said it was mainly due to lack of political will, which was well evident from the fact that hundreds of doctors’ posts at government institutions were lying vacant across the country. The scenario was attributed to the fact that no recruitment of doctors had been made in the public sectors hospitals of Sindh through provincial public service commission for last eight years with no less than 3,000 young doctors found partially employed and exposed to serious economic conditions.

The PMA office-bearers also claimed that the authorities concerned were making baseless claims that doctors were unwilling to work in rural areas, hence rendering most of its health facilities, in rural and remote areas non functional.

Factually, Dr Shershah Syed said that these facilities lacking even the basic provision for life saving drugs, necessary equipments along with supporting staff as paramedics made extremely difficult for government employed doctors to deliver.

Presenting the PMA’s Annual Health Report 2005, they said the health situation overall had not changed in Pakistan for the last many years. This was said to be despite the fact that significant funds were allocated for health sector yet the majority of local population continued to have no access even to primary health care.

They regretted that even according to official estimates more than 340 out of 100,000 women were dying during pregnancy due to non-availability of emergency obstetrical care to majority of local mothers. Maternal morbidity were increasing due to lack of health care facilities for under privileged women, they said.

In the report, they also discussed public vulnerability to various diseases and urgency to combat the same. — APP/PPI