Daily Times

Senior doctors at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) don’t bother to examine patients and not even available on evening or night duties, a Member National Assembly (MNA) decried on Thursday.

In her address at the floor of the house, Aliya Kamran took the negligence of the health care professionals at the only health care providing facility of the capital, saying that “it was an overwhelming issue which is putting patients’ lives in high risk and that needs to be addressed through some ruling by this house.”

Highlighting the shortage of doctors at the hospital, Kamran stated “the departments wherein doctors’ strength is fulfilled fortunately, the doctors never bothered to give treatment to the wretched patients and not only this, she added, even they are never available on their duties in evening or night shifts.”

Initially, Kamran was speaking on a calling attention notice jointly filed by Muhammad Anwar Jam Abdul Karim Bijar Tahira Aurangzeb , Shahnaz Saleem Malik in the house to invite attention of the Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to a matter of urgent public importance regarding non-appointment of Professor doctors and Associate Professor doctors in the PIMS against the posts lying vacant from the last many years that was causing grave concern amongst the public.

Kamran recalled that due to shortage of aforementioned senior health doctors, the junior doctors and other paramedics face difficulties while getting medical training, adding that this is a very serious issue which should be resolved as earliest as possible. The lawmaker also requested to refer the matter to the relevant standing committee for more comprehensive discussion as it could be rooted out permanently through legislation.

In response, Parliamentary Secretary on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro claimed that as soon as the MTI act is reverted all mentioned posts would be filled through prescribed legal procedure.

“Said positions would be filled through the Federal Public Service Commission after recommendation of the health ministry and to accomplish the rest all procedure in this regard”, she explained, hoping that the issue would be resolved on priority basis.

Dr Soomro endorsed the proposal of forwarding the matter to the committee on which Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durani, who chaired the session, announced “the matter is referred to the health committee and the presence of all members of the committee should be ensured.”

According to the documents with Daily Times, currently 253 posts of doctors in various departments at the hospital are lying vacant. Besides this, 56 posts of nurses and 48 posts of paramedical staff and 245 posts of lower staff including lab technicians, attendants and office boys also remained unfilled.

Due to the non-recruitment against aforementioned over 700 positions, not only the existing staff including doctors were facing problems tending to patients but it was also taking a toll on the rising number of patients, who have started to flock to the hospital after the new metro bus service was extended to rural areas and suburbs of the federal capital.

The deficiency of doctors compelled available specialist doctors to cut short their OPDs to tend to patients in the emergency, which caters to 2,500 to 3,000 patients daily.

As per available statistics, the daily number of patients visiting OPDs of different departments of PIMS hospital has exceeded 5,000. Around 100 operations were carried out in different wards daily. Moreover, between 150 and 180 patients visit the hospital everyday for minor operations (bandages, stitches, etc).