PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata have suffered heavy losses due to terrorism and violence since 2001 but forensic medicine and toxicology that deals with the knowledge of medicines to help trace culprits and enforce law for administration of justice both in civil and criminal cases remained ignored during these years.
Presently, the lone department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in the province is working at the Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar where majority of cases are referred from all over the province.
It was primarily due to ignorance of the successive governments towards this important subject that forensic medicine and toxicology lost its charm for the doctors and it couldn’t flourish in the public sector medical colleges.
Called as the state subject, forensic medicine has a crucial role in evidence of biological aspect of crimes.“Keeping in view modern trend in crimes and violence in Pakistan in general and KP and Fata in particular, we are still depending on the decade-old investigation system. In the modern world, culprits are easily traced due to latest research and advancement in the field of forensic medicine and toxicology,” opined a senior health expert in Peshawar.
“There are qualified professionals in our province but they are losing interest due to lack of incentives in their field,” he said.“Only state patronage and financial incentives to the people associated with the subject can make it attractive and relevant,” he opined.
If the government wants the subject to perform its vital function, it needs to develop human resources as most of the doctors prefer to go to other branches of medicine instead of forensic medicine.According to doctors, there is charm and better financial incentives in other branches of medicine compared to forensic medicines.
“Forensic medicine is considered as medicine of the “dead” with no financial benefits but extra inconvenience to present evidence at the court.
Therefore it doesn’t attract people,” a former principal of the Khyber Medical College (KMC) noted. “The specialty is regarded responsible, sensitive and unpleasant work,” he said, adding the only way to maintain and upgrade forensic services in the province and make the subject attractive for the newcomers was to start “forensic services allowance” for the doctors doing specialisation in forensic medicine.
“It is the only specialty in which knowledge and expertise cannot be practiced privately. It involves risks to their lives and the lives of their families especially in the current environment of terrorism,” the expert said.
He said special allowance on the pattern of “anaesthesia allowance” should be given in forensic medicine and toxicology to attract doctors, morticians, and auxiliary staff.In KP, forensic medicine and toxicology as subject existed at KMC since its inception in 1954 but a full-fledged department was set up in 1990.
Since then the department has been handling medico-legal cases, offering autopsy services and expert opinion by specialists to the entire province.Also, it has been providing training in forensic medicine to the undergraduate medical students of KMC and the postgraduate students including FCPS trainees from all over the country.
The forensic medicine department can also be utilised for generating revenue by extending its teaching and practical training to students of private medical colleges on payment.The training is mandatory under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) rules and necessary for the province as forensic medicine is the only state subject in the medical curriculum.
The time has come for the provincial government to take practical measures for development and upgradation of centres of forensic medicine in other parts of the province so that people don’t come to Peshawar for services that can easily be provided at the medical colleges, already established in almost every divisional headquarters.
“There is a simple solution that doesn’t require huge funds to develop this subject. The department of forensic medicine in all the medical colleges should be converted into a centre of forensic medicine on the pattern of forensic department of KMC where autopsies, medico-legal examination and sexual assault cases can be conducted. The government can even utilise services of trained staff in KMC for training of personnel of other centres,” the ex-principal suggested.
He said the medico-legal work of all divisions as well as the hospitals should be handed over to the concerned medical colleges.He said it would enable the medico-legal officers to handle medico-legal cases and sexual assaults in their respective areas and in case of any difficulty refer them to the concerned medical college for expert opinion.
The former principal said the medico-legal officers should remain under direct administrative control of the concerned medical college and respective forensic medicine department where they should be trained and sent back to their post.
“It will not only ensure timely justice to the poor masses at their doorsteps but also develop the specialty and decrease burden on the under-staffed forensic and medicine department in KMC,” he added.
He said the government would need to develop two cadres in emergency departments of all the hospitals, including medical officers for patients and medico-legal officers for medico-legal work.
