After much ado, LRH dean’s position advertised

PESHAWAR: Following criticism from the medical community over the appointment of a nursing director as the dean of Lady Reading Hospital, Chairman of the Board of Governors Dr Nausherwan Burki has advertised the position to appoint a “visionary and dynamic person” for the slot.

It was first time in the medical history of the province that a nursing director was appointed as the dean of the hospital. As per PMC rules, a dean of a medical college or hospital was required to be a professor with a Level III qualification in medical sciences, appointed by the institution, university, or government.

Earlier, the assistant professors, serving in multiple departments, were issued termination letters on May 27, 2025, by the then Dean of LRH-MTI, citing their inability to meet the promotion criteria to the rank of associate professor within the eight-year period mandated by Section 21(e)(VI) of the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Reforms Act, 2015 (as amended in 2022).

The letters specified that their services would end by November 27, 2025, and asked each one to confirm their date of departure. The move triggered widespread concern within the medical community, especially as most of the affected doctors had been appointed through competitive selection processes under both the MTI Act and regular civil service rules prior to its enforcement.

Several of the terminated faculty members challenged the decision in court, leading to legal summons being issued to the medical director and members of the LRH administration. However, the LRH administration rescinded the termination orders.

On July 14, 2025, the dean issued a formal notification stating that Letter No. 1652/Dean/LRH, dated May 27, 2025, had been withdrawn in its entirety. The notification, however, bore the signature of the Nursing Director, who was given additional charge as Dean a day later through a separate notification issued on July 15, 2025, by chairman BoG, Dr Nausherwan Burki.

Interestingly, it was claimed that the acting tenure of the dean and medical director had expired, assigned the charge of dean to the nursing director and that of medical director to the hospital director.

It had sparked intense debate among senior faculty and academic circles, who questioned the legality, academic appropriateness, and procedural fairness of the appointments. Except the Hospital Director, the positions of Medical Director and Dean LRH had been lying vacant for the last few years. Dr Burki has convened the BoG meeting today (Thursday).

When contacted, LRH Media Manager Mohammad Asim Khan said the position had been advertised and the hospital would soon have a fulltime dean. “We concluded the interviews for the position and the hospital will have fulltime medical director,” he said.

“This prestigious role (Dean) is now being advertised in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), inviting applications from qualified and experienced professionals in medical education, research, and healthcare leadership. As Dean, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of medical training, foster academic excellence, and lead one of the region’s foremost teaching institutions. We encourage qualified candidates from around the world to consider this unique opportunity to contribute to transformative healthcare and education in the region,” it is mentioned in the advertisement.