RAWALPINDI, July 5: Punjab health department has instructed the newly-formed boards of governors (BoGs) of autonomous hospitals to go soft on critical issues like ban on private practice of doctors serving at government hospitals, sources told Dawn on Friday.

According to the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Rules 2002, the boards of governors were expected to enforce the ban on procedural practice of the clinicians at the government hospitals. They were also expected to ban the private practice of the members of the hospital administration and certain other cadres.

The provincial health minister, Prof (Dr) Mehmood Ahmad Chaudhry, when asked to comment on this sudden shift in policy, said: “We do not want to cause unnecessary inconvenience to anyone through draconian measures.”

It should be recalled that the minister, at the time of the ordinance’s promulgation, had come hard on private practice. He had also coined the term “merchant doctors” and vowed to protect the “poor patients” from them.

The sources said the boards of governors had been asked to first establish a private ward and then revise the fee structure prescribed by the health department according to the local conditions and market rates. The boards were also asked to explain the initiative of institution-based private practice to the doctors and convince them to opt for it.

No clear cut date for starting private practice has been set, and the whole process which the boards have been asked to follow, may take years before they will be in a position to start institution-based practice, the sources said.

The boards of governors, the sources said, had also been asked by the health minister to revise the pay structures and other working conditions of the junior doctors, nurses and para- medics so that they could work with dedication and devotion.

The boards have been instructed to hire talented doctors on contract to improve the services delivery of the hospitals.

The health department has also asked the boards to pay special attention to the welfare of the poor patients.

The ordinance and rules covering the working of the BoGs and autonomous hospitals have a special section dealing with protection of the poor and children.

It states: “The medical institution shall develop a clearly defined mechanism for the protection and treatment of the poor and vulnerable for which the BoGs shall work out the modalities.”

Health department sources said the provincial government was being asked to enhance the grant for these hospitals by 50 per cent to meet their needs.

The boards of governors, while being given the blue print for working by the health department, were told to first establish their working base by setting up offices in the hospitals. “Later, the BoGs would proceed with the appointment of the principal executive officer, deputy dean and the medical superintendents of the three autonomous hospitals in Rawalpindi,” the source said.