Govt fails to appoint regular superintendents at Rawalpindi’s teaching hospitals

Rawalpindi: All the three teaching hospitals in town including Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Holy Family Hospital (HFH) and District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital are operating with medical superintendents having additional charge of posts after suspension or transfer of regular medical superintendents serving on the posts.

The Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department Punjab has advertised posts of medical superintendents of BBH, HFH and DHQ Hospital asking candidates to submit applications latest by March 20 which hints that the provincial health ministry has no plan to reinstate Dr. Tariq Masood Niazi, MS BBH who was suspended after refusal to the ‘request’ of Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat regarding posting of a female doctor, daughter of PML-N’s leader Hanif Abbasi.

After suspension of Dr. Niazi on February 4, the additional charge of the seat of MS at BBH was given to Dr. Samina Shaheen but later the charge of the post was given to Dr. Nasir Mehmood who had already additional charge of the post of MS at HFH and regular charge of the post of MS at Institute of Urology.

On March 11, the MS at DHQ Hospital in town Dr. Khalid Mehmood Randhawa was transferred and posted as additional principal medical officer (APMO) at BBH while additional charge of the post was given to Senior Medical Officer serving as Director Emergency at DHQ Hospital in BPS 18 Dr. Khalid Abbas Janjua.

It is also important that Dr. Niazi was posted as regular MS at BBH on November 5 last year, in 2018 after proper selection by the Punjab health department but he could serve only for three months on the post and suspended after he refused to obey the Punjab law minister.

A number of health experts serving at the allied hospitals along with young doctors have expressed their dissatisfaction over the decisions being taken by the health ministry alleging that doctors are being victimized politically.

There has been great unrest among medical professionals all across the province due to political interference of politicians from the ruling PTI and its allied parties, said a senior health official serving at the allied hospitals.

Pleading anonymity, he said the set-up of the three allied hospitals in town can be termed as the biggest allied healthcare facility in the province and it is ironical that none of the allied hospitals in town has a regular MS.

The Young Doctors Association Punjab has already demanded reinstatement of Dr. Niazi asking government to end political victimisation of medical professionals and to pull back its plan of implementing Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act but the government is paying no heed to the demands of the young doctors.

According to YDA officials, the YDA is willing to resolve the problems in a peaceful manner but if the government continued using force, it would be responsible for the consequences. Many health experts believe that the Punjab health ministry should work seriously to avoid young doctors going on strikes again as had happened in the previous governments.