KARACHI, April 12: The Sindh health department has no information about the spread of gastroenteritis in village Yousuf Bhut, district Badin, where more than 400 persons are suffering from the disease.

No reply was given to Ms Heer Ismail Soho's question who had asked for details from the government. Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto of the PPP had asked whether it was a fact that there was no service structure of specialists in the health department though in the year 1993-94 funds were provided for service structure and promotion of doctors.

She had also asked whether administrative posts, including MS/AMS, in the government hospitals were filled in by doctors of general cadre and as such specialist doctors who had post-graduate education were working under their juniors.

Responding to her question, provincial minister for health Mohammad Naeem Ishtiaq, in the written replies tabled in the house said there was a separate structure of specialist cadre doctors in the health department.

They were recruited through SPSC directly in grade-18. Their seniority was maintained separately from general cadre and they were further promoted in grade-19 and 20 according to their own seniority.

There was no strict policy for posting of MS / AMS in the government hospitals, he said, adding that many doctors of specialist cadre had also remained on the post of MS / AMS / director.

As doctors in specialist cadre are recruited directly in grade-18 through SPSC, hence their separate seniority had been maintained from general cadre. They get promotion in the next grade according to their own seniority.

As seniority of doctors in general cadre is maintained from Grade-17, whereas the seniority of the doctors in the specialist cadre who are directly recruited in the grade-18, cannot be maintained jointly, hence no such formula is under consideration.

However, he said, a summary has been sent to the chief minister for strengthening the service structure of specialist cadre. But no reply was given to leader of the opposition Nisar Khuhro's question in which he asked whether it was a fact that in year 1995 a four-tier service structure was adopted for doctors of general cadre and it was envisaged to upgrade the posts under 1:15:34:50: formula and promotions were made under the said formula in 1996.

He had also asked whether it was a fact that 35 doctors were promoted in March 1997 from BPS-19 to BPS-20 under above formula but no doctors had been promoted after the said period. Mr Khuhro also wanted to know as to why 70 posts in BPS-20 general cadre were either lying vacant or were held by junior doctors.

Replying to a question from Ms Shamim Ara Panhwar, the health minister informed the house that dental clinics have been established in all major hospitals, district health department hospitals, Taluka hospitals, RHCs, and 25 BHUs were functioning in major towns only.

Dental clinic is established at BHU Jhuluri in District Mirpurkhas where a dental technician is already posted, but due to shortage of dental surgeons in Sindh, no dental surgeon is posted are BHU Jhuluri.

In response to Nasreen Chandio's question, the house was informed that scholarship for the month of September and October, 2003 was not paid to the nursing students of Civil Hospital, Sukkur due to non-availability of funds under the primary unit of scholarship.

Now funds have been released and scholarship for the month of September and October has been paid in November, 2003, and since then the nursing students are getting scholarship regularly.