Daily Times

The regional office of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has not yet fully functioned despite passage of two years.

The PHC regional office was established in 2016 with aims to improve the quality, reduce quackery, safety and efficiency of healthcare service delivery for all public and private healthcare establishments in Rawalpindi.

However, it still has not fully functioned due to lack of manpower and financial resources. “The office work is limited to the registration process only,” said a senior officer at PHC adding that registration of the medical units, clinics and laboratories is continuing and registration forms are also available online on the PHC website.

Due to the lack of manpower in the regional office, a special team from Lahore came to Rawalpindi for the operation against non-register medical units.

Answering a question about the staff, he said only two senior officers – PHC Assistant Director Owais and PHC Assistant Manager Faizan – accompanied by one helping staff are deployed in regional office Rawalpindi.

“We are taking help from the head office located in Lahore when we need to take action against non-registered entities,” the officer said. Data shows that Punjab Healthcare Commission has visited 468 medical units, out of which it sealed 171.

A senior official wishing anonymity said, taking action against any substandard laboratories and quacks or sealing them is a lengthy legal process and the owners of the medical units sometimes challenge this action in court which creates hurdles in our performance.

Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians President Dr Asif Salahuddin said, “It was decided in a meeting with PHCC officials that the authority will not seal the medical units until the regional offices are not fully functional, but PHC teams came from Lahore and still conducted the operations. They do not have any field information. If any medical unit is sealed by PHC in Rawalpindi, the owner of the medical unit/clinic has to go to Lahore many times to unseal the clinic.”

Sources say some quacks have also registered their clinics through the documents of professional doctors and are practicing using licenses of other doctors. Hundreds of quacks are practicing in Sadiqabad, Kuri Road, Saidpur Road, Chandni Chowk, Committee Chowk and other areas of the city, sources revealed.

The PHC Act 2010 gives power to the district administration to nominate any officer against quackery. The officer nominated by commissioner or deputy commissioner will have the authority to seal any medical unit, sources said.

Published in Daily Times, August 3^rd 2018.