PESHAWAR, Oct 21: The Peshawar High Court has asked the provincial government to declare the services of health professionals including doctors as essential services so as to curb the activities of pressure groups and politically motivated and undesirable strikes in health institutions.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Pir Liaqat Ali also directed the government to constitute an arbitration council/committee for redressing genuine grievances of health professionals.

The bench made these observations in a detailed judgment delivered over issue of deteriorating health facilities. The bench had taken suo motu notice of the issue last year while hearing another case. The court had pronounced its short order on Oct 13 and has now released the detailed judgment.

The bench had earlier directed that a high power committee to be chaired by the vice chancellor of Khyber Medical University be appointed which should deliberate upon the matter from all angles and should submit its recommendations to the court to give it the shape of binding rules so that the delivery of services in medical healthcare is brought up to the mark and more beneficial to the public at large.

The bench observed that it had received comprehensive recommendations of the said committee.

The bench ordered the government to implement these recommendations and if amendment in law, rules and regulations is required for its implementation, the same be carried out within a reasonable time bit not later than four months as the matter is of great importance and urgency.

Apart from the recommendations of the committee, the bench has also put forward some of its recommendations.

The court observed: “The services of the medical professionals/doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and other employees of the government hospitals shall be declared essential services and necessary amendments be made in the West Pakistan Essential Services (Amendment) Act, 1958 or the government may by notification to be published in the official gazette, carry forward the above object because of the provision of section 4 of the said act.

It was added: “This would curb and suppress the detestable activities of the pressure groups, politically motivated and undesirable strikes in these institutions causing serious inconvenience to ailing community where some patients die because of non-availability of timely health cover.”

The bench suggested that to redress the genuine grievances of the medical professionals/doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and other employees of the government hospitals/institutions, an arbitration council/committee should be constituted to be headed by the vice chancellor of the Khyber Medical University and the co-opted chairman should be the provincial secretary health or his nominee.

It was added that the staff member having any grievance should file a complaint before the arbitration council which after hearing both the parties should decide the same within 20 days.

“We have noticed with concern that the Khyber Medical University has been made a toothless body because none of the public sector medical and dental colleges have been made constituent colleges of the same.

Under the law medical university would remain incomplete and ineffective unless these colleges are brought under the management and full control of the said university,” the court observed.

The bench observed that to reduce unmanageable burden on the tertiary hospitals, the government should lay down policy guidelines supported by rules and regulations making it compulsory for new entrants into medical profession, paramedics, nursing staff and senior medical professions of different specialty that they have to serve for one or two years in far flung districts of the province/hard areas. In return they should be given incentives in the shape of hard area allowance.

The court directed that it was more essential that a disciplinary committee headed by the vice chancellor of the KMU or the secretary health be constituted and senior most administrative officers should be its members.

“The charter of their domain shall be clearly prescribed and it shall be responsible for maintaining discipline in all ranks and files of all the employees of the government run hospitals and colleges.

In case of any unpleasant incident due to negligence of the medical staff or otherwise where a patient dies in the hospital, this committee shall entertain the complaint, probe into the matter in a professional manner and to fix the responsibility in a reasonable manner.”