PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has approved the appointment of more members to the board of governors for medical teaching institutions in the province to pave the way for making teaching hospitals and their affiliated medical and dental colleges fully operational.

Earlier, MTIs had less than the required members, leaving decisions on many crucial matters pending, according to officials.

They told Dawn that under the law, a MTI board should have at least five members to operate.

The officials said last week, the search and nomination council headed by health adviser to the chief minister Ihtisham Ali sent a summary to the chief minister for approval.

Officials say move to make hospitals, affiliated colleges fully operational

According to summary, Qaisar Iqbal Rajput, Khalid Abdul Aziz and Dr Ghulam Siddique have been made BoG members for the Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Dr Waqar Ajmal, Dr Wajid Ali and Javed Ihsan for Hayatabad Medical Complex, and Dr Abdul Hameed Afridi, Dr Shafqat Hassan, Dr Masood Sadiq and Syed Asif Shah for the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology.

Likewise, Dr Javed Khan, Shahab Khattak, Mohammad Murtaza Ali Shah, Dr Syed Irfan Kabir and Dr Mian Tahir Ali Shah have made it to the BoG of Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex Nowshera, whose board is currently non-existent.

For Ayub Medical College and Abbottabad Teaching Hospital, Usman Ali, Javid Qaisar and Dr Gul Afshana Hafeez Khan have been named board members, whileAlmas Fasih Khattak and Irfan Saleem Awan have become part of the board for Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi.

As for other BoG members, the chief minister has approved Sikandar Hayat Khan, Ahsan Gilani, Prof Farmanullah and Shah Niaz Khan for MTI Bannu and Gul Malook Khan and Mohammad Hassan for the Mufti Mehmood Memorial Teaching Hospital Dera Ismail Khan.

Officials said most of the new BoG members were little known among medical circles but they had vast experience of hospital management, so they’re likely to deliver the goods.

They said the first PTI government in the province passed the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015, with the objective of improving healthcare delivery and freeing public sector hospitals from bureaucratic and political interference.

The new law took the MTI-covered hospitals away from the health department’s control and gave it to the respective boards of governors, whose members are taken from the private sector.

Under the new system of governance, MTI board members have vast administrative powers, especially regarding the appointment of top officers such as deans and medical, hospital and nursing directors, so they have become most sought-after ones, according to officials.

They said last year, the caretaker government in the province replaced the PTI-era BoG members with their own nominees but they were replaced by the party’s current government with their own people.

The officials added that many of those members later challenged their removal in the court of law and obtained stay orders in their favour.

They said legally speaking, the BoG membership was voluntary in nature but those removed hired lawyers to stay on due to their vast powers.

However, they were removed by the court, declaring that the caretaker government doesn’t have the authority to make policy decisions like BoG appointments.

The officials said scores of senior doctors were hopeful that the MTI BoGs, after quorum completion, would take up the cases of their promotion.

They added that the boards were also required to approve budgetary matters and issue tenders for medical supplies and instruments desperately needed by MTIs.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024