KARACHI, June 25: Finance Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, replying to a question raised by opposition leader Nisar Ahmed Khuhro during the question hour in the Sindh Assembly on Friday, said that the provincial government was processing the cases of promotion of doctors.

In his written answer to the main question, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who also holds the portfolio of health, said in the year 1995 a four-tier service structure was adopted/ introduced for doctors of general cadre and it was envisaged to upgrade the posts under the 1:15:34:50 formula and promotions were made thereunder in 1996.

He informed the house that under the four-tier formula, 78 posts in BPS-20 were created by the finance department on Feb 27, 1995. Later, the number was increased to 87. Against these posts, 33 doctors were promoted on May 31, 1995, eight on June 12, 1995, 11 on July 12, 1995, one on Dec 11, 1995, 32 on Feb 18, 1996, two on Aug 15, 1996, and one on Nov 16, 1996.

He said with the commencement of the devolution plan, 17 posts of general cadre were abolished. He said under the devolution plan, most of remaining posts were also not required. However, instead of scrapping these posts, it was decided to redesignate such posts in a specialist cadre, keeping in view very little incentive for specialized cadre.

To a supplementary question, Syed Sardar Ahmed said the health department would be asked to finalize the filling of these posts within a month.

Nisar Khuhro pointed out that since 1997, 70 posts had been lying vacant and junior doctors had been working against them.

Replying to his point, the finance minister said a number of posts could not be filled because of ban and it was decided to refer some 120 posts to the Sindh Public Service Commission.

On the occasion, Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah inquired about posts lying vacant and asked the finance minister to instruct the health department and the district government to fill these posts.

To a question by Nisar Khuhro, the house was informed that the sanctioned strength of staff nurse (BPS-14) was 1,758, but at present, only 1,167 were filled and 591 posts were lying vacant.

On a question by Jam Mumtaz Dahar, the minister said that out of the 82 sanctioned strength of doctors, specialists, paramedics etc, only 58 were working at the taluka hospital Ubauro and 24 were lying vacant. Similarly, two out of four senior medical officers and only four out of six medical officers were working at the hospital.

There was no AMS, DMS, chief woman medical officer, surgeon, physician, skin specialist, gynaecologist, ENT specialist, paediatrician, eye specialist, senior woman medical officer, anaesthetist, MO (TBC), no CMO against three posts, no woman medical officer against two posts, no ECG technician, and neither had any maternity home been constructed at the hospital, he added.-APP/ PPI