Showdown with doctors

Instead of conceding some genuine demands of protesting young doctors pertaining to their future career in medical professions, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa government decided to use strong arm measures which may push the burning issue under the carpet for the time being but it is not the long term solution. The strategy of keeping the OPDs open by deploying police and stopping the entry of young doctors is not sustainable because the privitisation of healthcare system will render their career prospects bleak and make availing of health cover very expensive for the common man in future.
A new Health Law is on the anvil which will be passed and brought into force to abolish all the exiting cadres in government hospitals and future appointments of doctors, nursing and paramedical staff will be purely on adhoc and contractual basis. The existing incumbents will be the last government servants regarding pension and other benefits and after their retirement the vacancies will be abolished. This is what the American national Dr. Nawsherwan is adamant to implement at gunpoint. The young doctors are genuinely demanding the sacking of this foreign national from the Board of Governors of an MTI hospital.
The new Health Law if passed and enacted will restrict the opportunities of FCPS specialization study programmes because the young doctors posted in the District Headquarter Hospitals may be denied the NOCs by the envisaged District Health Authorities for availing the slots of TMOs in the teaching level hospitals which is a mandatory requirement for appearing in the FCPS Part-II examinations. It will serve no useful purpose but accentuate the current pace of brain drain in the shape doctors’ immigration abroad. It is high time that provincial ruling political leadership gives chance to reasons and not swayed by emotions, vanity and ego to make the existing healthcare system topsy-turvy.