KARACHI, Dec 3: The Sindh Health Department has warned that all those doctors who fail to return to their duties from foreign countries in line with the allowed No-Objection Certificate period will be dismissed from jobs.

This was stated by a spokesman for the Department in a report issued on Monday.

About 178 doctors — four belonging to teaching cadre, 32 specialists and 142 of the general cadre — have left Pakistan since October 2000 for employment abroad. Besides, 144 doctors are out of the country on deputation and study leave etc.

In Sindh there are 992 posts of specialists out of which 439 are vacant, whereas 249 out of the 556 posts of teaching cadre are also lying vacant.

The spokesman said the Health Department was short of 1010 doctors while another 200 have been dismissed from service during the last one and-a-half year because of their prolonged and continuous absenteeism.

He informed that 73 doctors had been issued visas for jobs in Saudi Arabia and they were waiting for the NOCs of the Health Department.

Of them many include those doctors who underwent training in different subjects on government expenses and are bound to serve in the Department for various terms while disciplinary action was underway against one doctor.

Another ten doctors have resigned and as such now only 50 doctors, including five dental surgeons, are awaiting NOCs from the Health Department.

During a recent meeting between Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro and health minister Ahsan Ahmad it was agreed by both of them that despite all departmental problems NOC for one year period would be issued to 29 doctors for their foreign assignments while the rest would not be issued any NOC under the compulsion as mentioned by the department, the spokesman added.

It was pointed out that out of the 102 doctors who were issued NOCs for one year in October and November last year for job in Saudi Arabia, only eight have come back.

Therefore, the policy of the Health Department is that disciplinary action will be taken against those doctors who would not return on expiry of the NOC period and they will be dismissed from service.

It has also been decided that the specialist and teaching cadres’ doctors and those in general cadre, who have obtained any postgraduate degree or diploma and are dental surgeons, would not be sent abroad.

The issuance of NOCs to general cadre doctors would depend on the situation as to how many doctors issued NOCs earlier had returned and how many vacant posts had been filled.

The spokesman made it clear that the government fully realized welfare of the doctors. But when their welfare comes in confrontation with those of the patients, the government’s priority would be the patients.—APP/PPI