Backlog: PMDC renews 7,000 registration certificates

Islamabad

Clearing the backlog, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has renewed in the last fortnight 7,000 registration certificates pending since last year.

Of late, the PMDC president and Executive Committee members visited the registration section after learning that a large number of cases of registration certificates had long been pending for renewal.

They directed the staff to clear all such cases within two weeks.

The PMDC president said due to the pending registration cases, the doctors faced a lot of difficulties.

“The disposal of backlog will help allay the undue anxiety in the medical and dental community in the country. The staff of the registration section worked day and night to clear the pending cases within the stipulated time,” he said.

Professor Zehri said the Council was also working on the agenda to introduce new mechanism to remove hurdles or any procedural delays in functioning of the organisation and handling of different type of cases by its staff.

He said the PMDC was working to make the registration system easy and prompt for doctors by introducing an online system.

“In future, doctors and dentists will send us the fees and documents required for registration online from any city of Pakistan. We’re working hard to bring our standards on par with internationally accepted ones,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council President Professor Shabbir Lehri has given the Avicenna Medical College, Lahore, one month to remove deficiencies.

He warned if the college failed to rectify the deficiencies, a strict action would be taken against the college. 

The PMDC president issued the warning during a surprise visit to the college to check if the teaching and clinical facilities are in line with the PMDC rules. 

The college is recognised for the training of 150 MBBS students. 

According to Professor Shabbir Lehri, he observed that the college was deficient in many aspects, low bed occupancy at the teaching hospital.

“Less than 10 per cent beds at the hospital were occupied by patients, which was a major deficiency. Also, 18 ventilators were not in use though scores of patients at government hospitals don’t have a single ventilator to benefit from. The college administration hasn’t admitted any such patient to the hospital wards,” he said.  The PMDC president said there were 40 emergency beds but they were occupied by four patients only. 

He also said the necessary furniture, benches and other stuff at the hospital were managed during the visit, while the wards were empty and washrooms were unclean by and large.

Professor Shabbir Lehri said on average, the hospital admitted from two to four patients in medical or surgical wards daily, which were too low to train 350 students rotating in clinical wards of 3rd year, 4th year and final year of MBBS course.