Health dept advertises pharmacists’posts already advertised by ATH

ABBOTTABAD: The provincial Health Department has advertised posts of pharmacists for the Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) through the Public Service Commission though these had already been advertised by the ATH.
The Finance Department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa allocated budget for 119 posts of pharmacists in the government hospitals of the province after approval of the summary from the chief minister following the instructions of Drug Regulatory Agency of Pakistan (DRAP).
The DRAP Act 2012 clearly states that one pharmacist for 50 beds should be appointed in every hospital. The Finance Department circulated a letter on November 5, 2014 to nine public hospitals of the province allowing them to appoint the pharmacists.
The Lady Ready Hospital Peshawar was allocated 25 posts of pharmacists, Khyber Teaching Hospital 20 posts, Hayatabad Medical Complex/Khyber Girls Medical College 17 posts, District Headquarters Teaching Hospital Kohat nine posts, Mufti Mehmood Teaching Hospital Dera Ismail Khan nine posts, Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital Bannu four posts, Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals Swat nine posts, Mardan Medical Complex Mardan seven posts and ATH Abbottabad 19 posts.
Subsequently, the management of ATH Abbottabad advertised different posts in 22 cadres. These included 19 posts of pharmacists that were to be filled through the National Testing Service (NTS) after the approval from the board of governors of the hospital. The last date for submission of applications was September 30.
Now the Health Department has advertised 103 posts of pharmacists, including the 19 posts of ATH advertised through Public Service Commission.
The pharmacists of ATH Abbottabad in a letter to the hospital’s director of institution stated that advertisement reflected direct interference in the affairs of the ATH.
The letter stated that the ATH is a autonomous body and the advertisement by Health Department is against the Medical Institutions Reforms Act 2015.
The Acting Hospital Director was not available for his comments. However, Ansar Abbasi, Senior Pharmacist at the ATH, confirmed the placement of the advertisement twice.
He said the administration would move the court to challenge the interference in the affairs of autonomous institutions like Ayub Teaching Hospital. He said there was no justification for the advertisement as the ATH had already advertised all the posts.