Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Senior professor doctors and assistant professor doctors have forged a covert nexus to thwart private practice of doctors in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in the federal capital.

Private practice by the doctors in PIMS has met failure at the very inception. Senior doctors remained absent from their respective offices on Friday despite payment of inflated fee by the patients. More than half of the doctors could not become available till 3 pm and 4 pm and patients kept on lodging their complaints with OPD director against the absenting doctors.

The complaints filed by the patients disclosed that the consultation fee of majority of assistant professor doctors has been fixed Rs 1,500 per patient in private clinics and in PIMS, the consultation fee has been enhanced to Rs 2,000.

The patients said that receiving consultation fee at the rate of Rs 2,000 is sheer injustice with them. This building is not the personal property of any one but it is constructed out of the tax money collected from the citizens. On the other hand, patients complained that the consultation fee have been jacked up rather than decreasing it in PIMS. They said that the doctors are not available despite unprecedented upsurge in their consultation fees.

OPD Director Matahir Shah told Daily Times that the process of working out lists is underway. He said that the attendance of assistant professors besides professor doctors is being ensured adding that it is just a start and improvement would be brought with the passage of time. He further said that the matter of charging higher consultation fee by doctors in PIMS than the fees they are charging in private clinics is being reviewed and matters would be settled soon.