LAHORE: Another scam of the alleged illegal induction of senior leaders of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) Punjab into training programme in supra-specialty surfaced as the Faisalabad Medical University (FMU) violated the Central Induction Policy (CIP) rules, making it the second university of the province where the YDA leaders were given the ‘favour’.

According to reports, the FMU’s senior management, the medical teachers/supervisors and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) were allegedly involved in making the ‘illegal’ inductions of former president and ex-chief election commissioner of YDA Punjab Dr Maroof Vaince and Dr Kashan Arshad, respectively.

Similarly, the ‘illegal’ induction of another doctor Dr Adnan Masood of Allied Hospital Faisalabad in Level-IV training programme was also reported.

Of them, the training of Dr Adnan and Dr Maroof was in the middle of the two-year training programme.

This is the second case of CIP violation as earlier FJMU inducted YDA Punjab president

After induction, Dr Kashan was transferred from Allied Hospital, the attached hospital of the FMU, to the University of the Child Health Sciences/Children’s Hospital, Lahore, where his two-year training programme was near completion.

Earlier, scam of similar nature had surfaced in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore, when the Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU) had allegedly ‘accommodated’ YDA Punjab president Dr Shoaib Niazi who was later removed from his post and put at the disposal of the health department soon after the matter came to the limelight some weeks back.

Following the violations reported in the above-mentioned two medical universities, some sources claimed that the induction of nearly 20 more medics into training programmes in violation of the CIP had been made by the CPSP and various universities.

They said the names of more medics with specific details of their alleged induction began to surface when the first scam took place in FJMU.

The Punjab government had introduced the CIP offering the medics to get them registered to get residency in FCPS, MD, MS, and FCPS dentistry programmes following the serious complaints of making inductions of ‘favourite’ candidates by the medical teachers and heads of the varsities.

For the purpose, the health department had created an online process for the deserving and qualified candidates to fill out the form on the website to ensure transparency and merit.

An official said the inductions of the medics, particularly, of YDA leaders, in violation of the policy shocked many, demanding an impartial investigation to fix responsibilities on the supervisors/heads of the relevant departments, senior management officers of the medical universities and the CPSP for usurping the rights of the deserving candidates.

“It was no doubt a blatant violation and we will not spare anyone involved in the illegal inductions of the medics for the supra-specialty training programme”, FMU VC Prof Dr Zafar Chaudhry told Dawn here on Wednesday.

He said the government must initiate actions against the heads of the relevant departments under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (Peeda) Act.

The FMU VC claimed that he had not signed any official document related to the illegal inductions of the doctors of the Allied Hospital in the level-IV training programme.

“Instead, I had recently issued a circular for the heads of all the departments of the FMU, seeking information from them about any illegal induction made in the residency programme in violation of the CIP”, Prof Zafar said.

The circular was issued in the wake of the induction of YDA Punjab president Dr Shoaib Niazi when it surfaced in FJMU Lahore, he said.

Through the circular, he had sought clarification/verification from the heads of the departments that no postgraduate resident of their respective departments was inducted in violation of the CIP.

“Interestingly, all of them had given written assurance that no violation was committed”, he said, adding that even then some cases surfaced, bringing embarrassment for him and the FMU.

When contacted, ex-president of YDA Punjab Dr Maroof Vaince confirmed to Dawn about his induction in violation of the CIP in the supra-specialty training programme.

However, he made it clear that he and his fellow doctors had applied for induction following the set precedent in the past wherein many medics in Allied Hospital Faisalabad, and other institutes of Punjab had been enrolled for training programmes while bypassing the CIP.

However, as the matter came to the limelight, he and his fellow doctor had already sent requests for cancellation of their respective induction in the level-IV training programme which, he claimed, have probably been finalised.

“We respect government and its regulations”, Dr Maroof said.Talking to this reporter, CPSP President Prof Shoaib Shafi said the college allows induction of the trainees on the basis of the recommendations made by the relevant supervisor/dean and the medical superintendent of the teaching institute.

“We use to induct students for residency programme following the policies and regulations of the respective provinces”, he said adding that he was not aware of any induction of the PG trainee made in violation of the CIP in Punjab.

However, being the CPSP president, he would encourage enrollment of the young medics for the training programmes to compete in the world.

“Even then, let me investigate the violation of the CIP [if reported] as we follow the Punjab government’s laid-down policy”, the CPSP president said.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024