PESHAWAR: The caretaker provincial government has removed chairmen of two Boards of Governors of medical teaching institutions for their affiliations with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre as heads of eight other boards continue to work, according to sources.

In an expected development on July 5, the health department through a notification removed Prof Nausherwan Burki and Dr Aasim Yousaf as chairmen of BoG of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, and Ayub Teaching Hospital/Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, respectively. Both are connected with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), established by former prime minister and chief of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan.

Prof Burki, who crafted Medical Teaching Institution Reforms Act, 2015, led the PTI’s reform process in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is also architect of SKMCH&RC, Lahore and Peshawar. He headed the BoG of LRH as well the MTI Policy Board. The policy board used to issue guidelines to all 10 medical teaching institutions in the province.

Dr Aasim Yousaf, the medical director of SKMCH’s Lahore, is the second chairman to have been removed. The chairpersons of remaining eight boards are, however, intact. Few members of BoGs had also been replaced in LRH, ATH, Bannu and Nowshera.

Chairmen of eight other BoGs continue to work

The policy board has already been disbanded by the caretaker government where Tariq Aziz, a senior SKMC’s employee was a member.

Dr Asif Loya of SKMCH, however, continues to act as chairman of the BoG of Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) because he didn’t stay in limelight. The performance of PIC regarding conducting free surgeries on Sehat Card Plus and introducing innovative interventions in the area of cardiology has been lauded at international level. It has also received awards for quality in services from international organisations.

Initially, Dr Faisal Sultan, the chief executive officer of SKMCH, who later became federal health minister when Covid-19 was at peak, served as chairman of the BoG of Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Later, he quit due to his engagements but Prof Burki continued to pursue the health reforms agenda of PTI government.

Provincial Doctors Association (PDA), Young Doctors Association (YDA) and nursing and paramedical associations have been opposing MTIRA since its introduction. They had blocked formation of district and regional health authorities for which law had been passed on September 2019. The members of the associations were also were beaten up by police during protests.

Several amendments to MTIRA have been incorporated since its passage by the provincial assembly in the first stint of PTI government in the province but employees continued protest, especially against LRH because it was headed by Mr Burki, the person who called the shots then.

The employees argue that these big hospitals were managed by health department like 1,900 other health facilities in the past. They say that MTI law is faulty under which the teaching hospitals and their affiliated medical and dental colleges have been given under the control of private people, the members of BoGs. The boards are too powerful to create new posts, demolish the existing ones and use the one-line budget from government as per their own requirements.

The atmosphere in other medical teaching institutions is not like LRH or ATH. HMC has made good progress in the same system. There are also issues in other boards but those have failed to get attention of the relevant people.

LRH, which acted as headquarters for all MTIs, will now be headed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, who has been appointed as chairman of its BoG. A former dermatologist at the same hospital, Dr Zubair has vast academic and administrative experience and is expected to deliver. The first meeting of the BoG of LRH is likely to take place on July 18.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2023