3 key officials at PIMS transferred as reforms process gets underway

Islamabad: The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), is well on its way to being reformed. The first sign of meaningful action being initiated in this direction came on Thursday with three key officials being transferred from positions, which could have been maximised to improve patient care and administrative practices.

According to three separate notifications issued on the instructions of Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CA&DD) Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, the director/administrator of SZABMU Dr. Altaf Hussain has been transferred and posted as director general (development) at CADD, Dr. Ayesha Isani has been removed from the post of additional director medical and been asked to work against her original post in the Department of Radiology at SZABMU; and Dr. Fazle Maula, executive director of the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), has been assigned additional charge as administrator of SZABMU.

More suspensions are said to be in the pipeline as Dr. Tariq Fazal has expressed determination to turn SZABMU into an exemplary institution that will come to be known for its services. The vice chancellor of SZABMU, Professor Javed Akram, has been asked to implement these changes with immediate effect. The postings are being cited as the first step towards wide-ranging reforms of SZABMU. There has not been a single posting or transfer at any level at PIMS during the last four years.

According to official sources, Dr. Fazle Maula has been appointed administrator of SZABMU with the consent of the Prime Minister’s Office in view of his honest disposition, particularly in financial matters. However, the faculty at PIMS believes that the institute needs a full-time administrator, rather than someone who will have to simultaneously manage the affairs to two health institutions.