LAHORE: Punjab health department has moved a summary to add the Shaikh Zayed Hospital Lahore to the list of autonomous institutes in the province to award more than 4,000 employees of the institute the status of “public servants” and allay the confusion created by some “troublemakers”.

The mega medical complex comprises a hospital, a medical college, a postgraduate institute, a nursing institute and a national health research council.

To materialise the scheme, the health authorities last week shifted all the relevant record, including that pertaining to service of employees, and administrative and financial matters, from the Cabinet Division, Islamabad, to the Civil Secretariat, a senior official told Dawn on Wednesday.

The move aimed at ending unrest, strikes at institute

He said the health department’s initiative would help allay the uncertainty about the status of the institute.

SZH was established under Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Trust in 1986 and the Punjab government had allotted 56 acres of land for the purpose, he said.

The official lamented that some “disgruntled” faculty members and senior doctors had been creating doubts about the status of the institute among its employees and instigating them for observing strikes to the disadvantage of patients. Most of these “instigators” are candidates for the top lost of the institute, he added.

These faculty members had been misguiding the employees, telling them their job and promotion matters would be at grave risk because of the the “trust status” of the hospital and it should be abolished, he said.

The official said the confusion was so wide-spread the so far 61 petitions had been filed in the Supreme Courts and the Lahore High Courts challenging the trust status of the institute, its rules and regulations, its transfer to Punjab government, appointment of the chairmen etc. Many of these pleas were still pending in the courts.

Consequently, he said, there had been unrest, scuffles, politics and conspiracies at the institute, bringing it on verge of closure.

Recently, the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council had barred the medical college of the institute from admissions due to differences between some teachers and the head.

The SZH remained “practically closed for patients” for 40 days owing to a strike by paramedics against the Board of Trustees which ended a couple of days ago. The ugly incident of throwing eggs on the advisor to chief minister on health Khawaja Salman Rafique and senior doctors also occurred during the strike.

The official said the Punjab government finally decided to resolve the issue permanently. While preparing the summary, he said, the SZH’s history with regard to its legal and administrative matters was updated for the first time for the health department’s record.

The record was updated to counter the disinformation disseminated by the “troublemakers” so that they could not mislead the paramedics and other employees.

The official said two trusts were formed during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government – Peoples Foundation Trust and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Trust.

When Gen Zia came to power he renamed the both trusts. Peoples’ Foundation Trust was renamed as Shaikh Sultan Trust and ZAB Trust as Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Trust.

The then president of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan, transferred funds amounting to $100,000 and the federal government contributed Rs7,272,105 to the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Trust.

The prime purpose of the trust was to establish, maintain and run a hospital in Lahore and or a medical college in Larkana, to promote medical educational, economic, social and cultural well being of people of Pakistan and to undertake or establish a project or projects in any part of the country.

SZH was built under the same Trust. Since then the Board of Trustees has been playing the role of a supervisory body and it had nothing to do with the hospital’s financial and administrative affairs.

The official said the “troublemakers” had been taking advantage of resemblance in the names of the two trusts and instigating the institute employees.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2015

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