RAWALPINDI, June 2: Punjab Governor Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool has assented to the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Bill 2003, provincial Minister for Law Raja Basharat said here on Monday.

The bill, approved by the provincial assembly last week, has come into effect immediately.

The minister said the concerned department had been directed to implement the bill, adding that the new set-up would be in place shortly. He said till the new set-up comes into existence, the affairs of hospitals would be run under the defunct system as an interim arrangement.

The new bill replaces the controversial Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Ordinance 2002, whose implementation last year had led to protests by doctors, after which the government made major amendments to it.

The implementation of the new bill would abolish the posts of principal executive officer and the deputy dean. The principal of the medical college would be the chief executive as well. The bill envisages the change of nomenclature of the governing body from the board of governors to the board of management. The BoM has a greater representation of doctors as compared to the defunct BoGs.

Health department sources said top officials were finalizing nominations for the new BoM.

The BoM comprises provincial health secretary, finance secretary, principal of the respective medical college, chairman of the academic council, six non-official members from amongst eminent professors of medical colleges, prominent doctors from general cadre, management experts, retired military and civil officers, citizens, notable jurists and financial experts.

The medical superintendent of the attached hospital would be the secretary of the board.

Meanwhile, as the countdown to the installation of the new system continues, the administration at the RGH has lost interest in the affairs of the hospital and a complete chaos exists in the Rawalpindi Medical College.