Doctors suffer as licence renewal suspended

Islamabad :Besides laying off all 300 staff members without prior notice, the sudden dissolution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has also stressed out doctors and dentists by suspending the issuance of provisional registration certificates, renewal of practice licences, and the holding of registration exam.

A presidential ordinance, which had disbanded the PMDC a fortnight ago, had promised the formation of the Pakistan Medial Commission to 'regulate and control the medical profession by establishing a uniform minimum standard of medical education and training, and recognise qualifications in medicine and dentistry'.

The new organisation hasn't begun function to the misery of medical and dental practitioners, who are approaching the PMDC for one work or the other. According to them, around 15,000 fresh medical and dental graduates need provisional registration certificates for house job but the disbanding of the PMDC has delayed their issuance with the necessary measures not in sight.

Also, the renewal of the practice licences of 50,000 doctors and holding of registration examination for 3,000 foreign medical and dental graduates are facing delay due to the promulgation of the ordinance.

The medical and dental practitioners demanded the immediate withdrawal of the PMC ordinance to ease their misery.

On the other hand, the sacked PMDC employees, who have been staging a sit-in outside their organisation for the last 15 days, reiterated their demand for the immediate yet unconditional reinstatement.

They said it was ironic that Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised before elections to offer 10 million jobs but after coming to power but his government had begun closing down government organisations and sacking employees and thus, triggering massive unrest.

The protesters said sackings and that, too, with a single stroke of the pen without any prior notice were the economic murder of their families. They warned that they would go to any extent to make the prime minister order their restoration and self-immolation couldn't be ruled out.