LAHORE: Punjab Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SH&MED) Secretary Ali Jan requested Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) Secretary Ali Jan (himself) to stop induction of doctors for Level-III and the MCPS training at the non-teaching public hospitals of the province.

He took up the matter following the reports that the mushroom growth of postgraduate trainees through non-teaching hospitals might deteriorate the healthcare standards.

Mr Jan has been heading both the health departments for the last many months, hence he, as the P&SHD secretary, requested the SH&MED secretary (himself) for the move mentioned above.

In, what appeared to be, a funny situation, he wrote a letter (a copy available with Dawn) as the secretary of the SH&MED to the secretary P&SHD, seeking the latter’s intervention to stop ‘serious policy violation’.

An official said that he was not on good terms with the both health ministers (former and current) of Punjab ever since the provincial government stopped process of appointment of the regular secretary of the SH&MED. He said many bureaucrats tried to get posted as secretary of any of the two health departments but the former PM (Shehbaz Sharif) reportedly stopped the process.

Secretary who heads both health depts orders programme suspension, minister resists

Recently, he added, health minister Dr Jamal Nasir tried to start Level-III and MCPS programme at all the district and tehsil headquarters hospitals. The purpose of the initiative was to facilitate the locals who were forced to visit the overwhelmingly burdened tertiary care hospitals of the major cities for surgeries and other complicated diseases.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) also accredited many departments and hospitals to start the training programme, the official said and added that Ali Jan opposed the decision of the minister, declaring his efforts a violation of the policy and rules.

Jan was of the view the DHQ and the THQ hospitals were non-teaching institutes and the health minister’s scheme would bear no fruit. On the other hand,

the minister claimed that if this training programme could run in private hospitals, there was no justification to stop it at the public sector DHQ and THQ hospitals.

The official said that following a rift with the minister, Mr Jan, as the SH&MED secretary, wrote a letter to the P&SHD secretary some days back to immediately stop implementation on the programme.

In the letter, (a copy is also available with Dawn), he informed the P&SHD secretary that the DHQ and THQ hospitals were the non-teaching hospitals controlled by the P&SHD.

“The said hospitals can’t impart MCPS or Level-III training to the doctors rather it is the prerogative of the SH&MED,” reads the official letter.

Henceforth, SH&MED Secretary Ali Jan requested to P&SHD Secretary Ali Jan to stop induction of the MCPS at the DHQ and THQ hospitals or at any other non-teaching hospitals of Punjab.

He stated in the letter that the policy for various Level-III and Level-II/MCPS had been notified through a notification issued on July 21, 2023. He further pointed out that the Punjab government Rules of Business 2011 clearly delineated the role and mandate of the SH&MED and discussed the relevant clauses 2 & 3 (a) in this respect.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Nasir said he had already taken up the matter with Mr Jan while objecting to the letter he had written to stop the programme, suggesting to him to review the letter.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023