Daily Times

LARKANA: There is a serious dearth of BPS-20 general cadre doctors as only 17 are working and 78 posts are occupied by junior cadre of BPS-19 doctors which has exposed the Sindh government’s false claim of good governance.

In March 2015, BS-19 officers were promoted to BS-20 and since then many of them have retired but the posts are still vacant or occupied by juniors. Important administrative posts of District Health Officers, Directors, Deputy Directors, Project Directors, Police Surgeons, Chief CMOs, Chief Radiologist, Public Health School Principals etc. are occupied by junior doctors in defiance of apex court’s orders despite availability of experienced hands.

A senior doctor of BPS-19 working as Additional Medical Superintendent in CMCH, on condition of anonymity said that their promotions to BS-20 were due in 2004-05 as they were promoted in BS-19 in June 1999 and their promotion was due after five years but they have been denied their right for years.

“Had the Sindh Government promoted doctors to BPS-20 timely, this situation would not have surfaced”, he said adding “the Sindh Government had announced a policy according to which, after attaining 25 years of active service, all doctors will be eligible for BPS-20, but so far the government has failed to implement its own commitment,”.

In Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), he said, four important posts of BPS-20 that are vacant include the posts of Police Surgeon, Chief CMO, Chief Radiologist and Additional Medical Superintendent. The posts of Director& Deputy Director Health Services, Larkana division and Public Health School principal are also left vacant.

The senior doctor also said “posts of District Health Officers (DHOs) in entire Larkana division are also occupied by junior, but politically powered doctors” despite the fact that two polio cases, one in each districts of Kambar & Shikarpur have surface during the current year, which has exposed their inefficiency. He said out of 29 posts, junior doctors have been posted on 18 posts of DHOs in Sindh which is a best way to assess the standard of Sindh government’s good governance and at the same time it has exposed massive corruption in its Health department.

Furthermore, he maintained that Sindh Government had decided to hold regular meetings of Selection Board-1 monthly or after every three months to ensure merit but that too has not been followed. In addition, the end of March 2017, as many as ten more BS-20 doctors will retire on attaining the age of 60, which will further aggravate the already worsened situation and Director Health Services, Karachi, Dr. Abdul Waheed Panhwar is also holding the charge of DHO East and Dr. Abu Bakar Shaikh, Medical Superintendent, Mahar Medical College Hospital, Sukkur, is also holding dual charge of DHO Ghotki which proves that healthcare management in the province has been ignoring the appointments willfully. According to sources, there are 95 posts of BS-20 and most of them are vacant or are occupied by junior and inexperienced doctors resulting in sufferings of the poor ailing masses. Doctors of general cadre, who are waiting for their due promotion, have demanded immediate promotion to the position they deserve for years.