LAHORE, March 4: The health department has formally banned principal executive officers/deans, deputy deans and medical superintendents of autonomous medical colleges and attached hospitals to do private practice in and outside their respective institution.
The health department, it is learnt, issued a notification on Monday in line with the Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Rules, 2002, gazette notified on Jan 24.
Sources claimed that the health department had to issue the particular notification as most of PEOs, deputy deans and MSs were continuing their private practice.
Under the new rules, it may be mentioned, the three administrative officers were supposed to be given lucrative salaries. The health department, however, did not announce any package for the newly notified PEOs, deputy deans and MSs.
The sources claimed the enhanced salaries for the three officers would be determined by the yet-to-be constituted boards of governors. The boards would also be empowered to offer the enhanced salaries to the three officers with retrospect effect.
The newly notified PEOs were King Edward Medical College, Mayo Hospital, Lady Wellingdon Hospital and Lady Aitchison Hospital PEO Prof Dr Mumtaz Hasan; Allama Iqbal Medical College and Jinnah Hospital PEO Prof Dr Eice Muhammad; Fatima Jinnah Medical College and Ganga Ram Hospital PEO Prof Dr Akbar Chaudhry; Postgraduate Medical Institute and Services Hospital PEO Prof Dr Shamim Ahmad Khan; Lahore General Hospital PEO Dr Sabiha Khursheed; Punjab Medical College, District Headquarters Hospital and Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, PEO Dr Ubaidur Rehman Khwaja; Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi General Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital and Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, PEO Dr Naseem Ullah; Nishtar Medical College and Nishtar Hospital, Multan, PEO Prof Dr Ashiq; Quaid-i-Azam Medical College and Victoria Bahawal Hospital, Bahawalpur, Maj Prof Muhammad Amin (retired); and Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, PEO.
The new notification had also formally banned clinicians —- consultants, professors, associate professors and assistant professors —- to do procedural practice outside their respective institutions. The clinicians were now required to do procedural practice in their respective institutions. After duty hours, the clinicians were allowed to do consultation practice at their residences or in offices not attached to any premises with in-patient or procedural facilities.
It was also learnt that the clinicians had been allowed to fix their private practice fees, while the institutions would charge for accommodation and food, medicines, operation theatre fee, hospital commission for deploying the consultant and miscellaneous facilities and services.
As regards to the facilities at private wards, the health department considered that the clinicians would themselves develop their offices and private wards to attract private patients. The Punjab government would also inject some funds to upgrade the condition of private wards in autonomous teaching hospitals, it was learnt.