LAHORE, July 11: A summary regarding establishment of an independent medical cadre in Punjab prisons, which was not executed despite its approval by the provincial government in September 2009, is now seriously being taken up in the light of the Supreme Court’s directives, Dawn has learnt.
The delay is the outcome of a lack of political will and bureaucratic wrangling.
The home department directed the prisons department on Tuesday to prepare lists of vacant posts of paramedics above BS-5 as the government agreed to lift ban on recruitments.
Under the ongoing jail reforms, the top court taking notice of poor health facilities of prisoners had directed the prisons departments in all provinces to improve healthcare facilities in jails on a priority.
A revised summary had been moved to the government by the Inspectorate of Punjab Prisons around two weeks ago, suggesting creation of 169 posts of doctors and paramedical staff at the inspectorate, four regional offices and 32 jails during the current fiscal year. The inspectorate is currently borrowing doctors and paramedical staff from the Punjab health department.
Currently, 42 doctors (11 of them female) from the health department are working in jail hospitals against the sanctioned strength of 62; 11 nursing assistants are available against the sanctioned strength of 27; 32 male dispensers are available against the sanctioned strength of 54 posts; there are 14 lab assistants against a requirement of 16 and six X-Ray operators are part of medical team against a requirement of 15.
Similarly, three posts of lady visitors are lying vacant in Lahore’s central jail and districts jails of Sialkot and Jhelum.
Sources privy to the development told Dawn that the project’s estimated cost was Rs41.467 million and it was aimed at improving healthcare management of prisoners.
Referring to official correspondences, they said the home department on Sept 26, 2009 accorded sanction for creation of independent medical cadre in Punjab.
Sources said the National
Reconstruction Bureau, Islamabad had recommended in November 2009 the creation of additional posts of medical, paramedical and specialists in Pakistan jails for improvement in healthcare facilities and recommendations were conveyed to the provinces by the interior ministry in December 2009.
Sources said the Punjab jail authorities pleaded in a memo to the provincial government that: “Jail hospitals have indoor/outdoor and diagnostic facilities almost equal to rural health centre in Punjab department. So we should follow yardstick/criteria for the creation of posts of staff for each jail hospital and number of posts should be according to the prison population.
“In case of independent cadre, the home department will recruit their own doctors and their service structure should be developed/arranged in such a way that each doctor has a chance to be promoted up to the top as chances exist in the provincial health department. This type of service structure is necessary to attract the doctors for prisons departmentas otherwise situation will remain the same, so suggested posts should be created.”
It was further pleaded that: “Doctors at prisons have to provide 24-hour emergency coverage as a doctor providing emergency coverage has to stay in jail premises round the clock. With the creation of one post of medical officer per 1,000 prison population, the emergency coverage and indoor and outdoor healthcare management will improve.”
One post of chief medical officer (BS-20), nine senior medical officers (BS-19), 11 medical officers (BS-17), four dental surgeons (BS-17), four psychiatrists (BS-17), one pharmacist (BS-17), 32 nurses (BS-14), one computer operator (BS-10), 16 dental technicians (BS-9), one senior clerk (BS-9), two junior clerks (BS-7), 17 X-Ray operators (BS-6), 37 male dispensers (BS-6), 32 lab technicians (BS-6) and one naib qasid are to be created as part of the plan.
A senior jail official told Dawn that the need to create an independent medical cadre originated owing to shortage of doctors and paramedical staff and involvement of available doctors in corruption.
He said there was no mechanism for monitoring and taking disciplinary action against doctors (who basically belong to the health department) in the prisons department, but after the creation of independent cadre they would be held accountable.
The official said there were complaints that doctors working in jails got themselves involved in issuing fake medical certificates to under-trial prisoners for their bails on medical grounds, adding that they managed to switch back to their mother department in case of any recommended action.
He said non-seriousness could be judged from the fact that at least 21 doctors were not dispatched to the jails from the health department. He said some selective paramedical staff was already part of the inspectorate of prisons but jails witnessed their shortage too.