PESHAWAR: The appointment of a dental surgeon as the medical superintendent of the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals Swat has sparked controversy, with doctors from the management cadre declaring the posting a violation of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and health department regulations.

They told Dawn that under the PMDC rules, a medical teaching hospital’s administrators should be an MBBS doctor with a master’s in health management and at least five years of experience in a teaching hospital.

The management cadre doctors claimed that manyof their qualified colleagues awaited postings.

They said the health department appointed dental surgeon Dr Sharafat Ali Khan (BPS-19) as the MS of the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital Swat on Aug 8 though the position was meant for BPS-20 medical doctors with qualification and experience in management.

CM’s focal person insists such postings made when management cadre doctors not available

According to them, the appointee, a dental graduate, doesn’t meet the appointment criteria as he neither holds a master’s degree in health management nor is he a medical doctor as required by the rules.

The management cadre doctors added that Dr Sharafat didn’t possess the administrative experience required by the PMDC Rules, 2024, for such postings.

They insisted that not only did the appointment violate regulations but it was also an “injustice” to the MBBS doctors working in the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals.

The doctors said they had written a letter to the PMDC registrar to take up the issue with the health department to cancel that “illegal” appointment.

They said under the health department’s management cadre rules, a medical doctor with MPhil or PhD in public health, health administration or health management, or equivalent qualification from any recognised university with 10 years of administrative experience is required for a BPS-20 management post, so the top Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital slot should go to a qualified medical doctor with experience in administration.

When contacted, Dr Amjad Ali Khan, the chief minister’s focal person on health, insisted that such appointments were made when qualified management cadre doctors were unavailable.

He said Dr Sharafat was appointed to the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospitals as the MS on the “acting charge basis” by the last caretaker government in November 2023 before his appointment on a “permanent basis” was notified next August due to his managerial experience in response to a summary moved by the caretakers.

Dr Amjad, who is a MNA of the ruling PTI from Swat, said the shortage of senior doctors in the management cadre was so serious that the health department had assigned the top hospital administrative positions to two more dental surgeons.

He also said Dr Sharafat remained part of the Swat hospital’s procurement committee for seven years and held relevant managerial experience.

“In some cases, the health department appoints juniors to senior management posts when seniors of the management cadre are not available,” he said.

The focal person, however, said the health department was in the process of appointing management cadre doctors with the relevant qualification and experience to its and hospital managerial positions.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2024