PESHAWAR: Most of the medical teaching institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been operating without appointment of permanent employees on key positions, which have been occupied by the doctors appointed by the respective board of governors on acting charge basis.

Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act (MTIRA) was implemented in the province in 2015 to grant financial and administrative autonomy to teaching hospitals and free them from political and bureaucratic interference.

“However the law remained far from being fully enforced,” sources told this scribe.

The law has been extended to 10 hospitals and their affiliated medical and dental colleges but key positions in most of the institutions have been still held by senior doctors on acting charge basis, causing administrative, clinical, academic and financial problems, according to sources.

Policy Board head says important posts will be filled shortly

When the law came into play, the institutions slipped away from the administrative control of health department and their respective BoGs assumed all the powers of making vital decisions, including appointment on top posts such as dean, medical, hospital, finance and nursing directors.

“BoGs, which have vast powers, are yet to appoint employees on these positions through proper advertisements and as a result, people run these posts on temporary basis,” they said.

They said that except a few MTIs, all had part-time directors, who were supposed to take all the decisions. They said that members of BoGs continued to be inducted and removed by governments.

The BoGs are so powerful that the caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year did nothing worthwhile in health sector except stuffing these boards with people having political connections. “In the process, the institutions continue to suffer as those BoGs also support the acting people on key slots,” they added.

Sources said that some intuitions, where medical directors and hospital directors were appointed through proper channel, always complained that members of BoGs appointed by caretakers wanted undue favours, which they declined.

When Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the pioneer of MTIRA, assumed power for third time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March this year, the major challenge was replacement of BoGs appointed by their predecessors, who were ultimately removed in the first week of June.

On papers, the members of BoGs are selected from private sector and they work on voluntary basis but in reality they call the shots and run the show in MTIs. Many of the BoG members went to court to save their positions through hiring lawyers when they were removed, sources said.

They said that BoGs did not take interest in recruiting permanent employees on important positions and continued with their handpicked doctors from the relevant institutions for their own interests.

Sources said that the employees, who were recruited through proper advertisement and merit, followed law and did not accept illegal demands of BoGs and other influential lot.

However, ad hoc employees did what they were directed by the BoGs, for fear of losing their coveted positions given to them in bonus, they added.

Prof Nausherwan Burki, chairperson MTI Policy Board, told Dawn that they had initiated the processes to fill important positions in some MTIs while in few cases they were awaiting full complement of BoG members.

“The new BoGs consist of professional people with proven experience in health and related field and they are working hard to improve operations of hospitals for the benefit of patients,” he said.

He said that implementation of the law was continuing process to improve operations at hospitals and all the boards were working to improve patients’ care.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2024