PMDC suspends registration of 30 doctors

Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has disposed of over 110 complaints of medical negligence and professional misconduct and cancelled or suspended the registration of at least 30 doctors since March this year, said PMDC president Prof Dr Tariq Iqbal Bhutta.

He told reporters here that the current 17-member Council, the supreme decision-making body of the PMDC working since March 13, 2019, had carried out the inspection of nationwide medical and dental colleges to check standards of education and facilities.

"The colleges not having the minimum standards will be closed down as if that doesn't happen, the standards of Pakistani MBBS and BDS courses will lose international recognition," he said.

The PMDC president said the Council was registering over 1,000 Doctors annually through the NEB examination of Pakistani citizens with foreign basic medical and dental degrees. He said the Council held 10 Sessions in a short span of time for speedy disposal of cases, timely decision-making and framing of regulations on the recommendations of its committees.

The PMDC president said the Medical Colleges Admission Regulations 2018 had been revised, while the Admission Policy for Session 2019 -20 had been announced to ensure transparency and merit in the admission process. He said the MD–CAT (entry test) would be held on Aug 25 and Sept 8 across the country through admitting universities.

The PMDC president said the inspection and evaluation criteria for recognition of the colleges had been revised and implemented by the council. He said the new criteria had been pilot-tested before implementation. "Four training sessions on new inspection criteria have been conducted since March in Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore with over 400 participants," he said. The PMDC president said under the new criteria, inspections of all medical and dental colleges in public and private sectors were being carried out. "The objective of inspections is to improve and enhance the standards and quality of medical and dental education," he said.