PESHAWAR, March 6: The institution-based private practice of the public sector doctors is expected to raise substantial amount of funds for the government hospitals and their subordinate staff, besides helping the Central Board of Revenue to expand its income tax revenue base in the NWFP.
According to the NWFP government figures, in Peshawar, on an average, daily over 4,000 patients were used for extended consultation by the public sector doctors at their clinics before March 1, when an across-the-board ban on their private practice outside public hospitals got into effect.
“All the three teaching hospitals in Peshawar and their subordinate staff would certainly benefit from the idea of institution-based private practice,” said a health department researcher.
The official based his optimism on the assumption that given the government employed doctors end their boycott to the institution-based private practice, the number of patients they were used to receive ever day at their private clinics would certainly approach them at hospitals in the evening.
In line with the NWFP health department’s envisaged scheme of things, 20 per cent of the officially fixed amount of consultation fee — Rs300 per consultation in the case of Peshawar and Rs200 in case of peripheries — would go to the kitty of the hospitals. The same percentage of share has been fixed for the paramedics and other subordinate staff of the hospitals.
Whereas, the remaining 60 per cent would go to the doctor(s) against every consultation.
In view of the conservative estimates compiled by the provincial health department, said the sources, the three teaching hospitals of the provincial capital were likely to jointly share over Rs70m a year — on account of their 20 per cent share under the consultation fee.
A similar amount is likely to go to the paramedics and the support staff of the staff in line with their 20 per cent share under the consultation fee.
“The above estimates,” said the senior government sources, “pertain only to the provincial capital.”
Besides, the X-rays and medical tests conducted at the hospitals in the evening would also bring considerable amount of funds for the public sector health facilities.
The hospital managements, said the sources, had been empowered to utilize 10 per cent of the total funds they would receive under the institution-based private practice on development works on their own.
Whereas, for the rest of the funds’ utilization, provincial health department’s consent would be required.
Similarly, the move is being viewed as equally good for the CBR.
Five per cent up-front income tax would be deducted at source from the consultation fee and other heads of income.
“CBR is expected to raise several hundreds of thousands of rupees additionally every month from across the NWFP as every transaction that would be made under the institution-based private practice would be subjected to at-source-deduction of income tax,” said senior health department functionaries.
The Peshawar-based authorities of the CBR’s income tax extension, when approached, also hoped that if the accounts were maintained the NWFP government move of making the public sector doctors to carry out their private practice in the public sector hospitals would help the CBR expand its revenue base in the Frontier province.
Majority of the senior registrars and specialists, from among the public sector doctors, according to income tax department sources, barely pay income tax against the income they earn from their private clinics.
There are certain cases in which senior specialists are raising Rs100,000 to Rs150,000 per day individually. Whereas those earning Rs20,000 and above on daily basis are numerous with their clinics situated in the known Dabgari Garden, here — the hub of private practitioners.
According to officially maintained figures — duly verified by the disgruntled doctors’ leaders when contacted by Dawn— over 270 consultants, from among the senior registrars and faculties’ members of the three teaching hospitals of Peshawar, on an average, conduct 86 operations daily in private medical centres situated in Dabgari Garden apart from extending consultation facilities to 4,293 patients in their private clinics every day — except Sundays.
“Doctors have already been offered to enter into joint ventures with the government as we want to utilize 335 rooms and 48 operation theatres they have set up in private medical centres at Dabgari Garden and a couple of other places in Peshawar,” said a senior health department functionary.