LRH doctors resent halting promotion process

PESHAWAR: Frustration is growing among doctors serving at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) as its administration has stopped the promotion process of the faculty members without any reason.

The doctors got frustrated after learning about the promotions of their fellow members serving at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC).The HMC administration has promoted 45 doctors under the Medical Teaching Institution Reforms Act 2015. Prof Dr Zahid Aman told The News that they had promoted the faculty members under the MTI Act 2015.

He said the promoted doctors had submitted undertakings to join the institution-based practice. Another MTI, Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in Peshawar, is likely to follow suit by promoting its faculty members.The LRH administration recently promoted some of the institutional employees. This had given hope to the doctors who submitted applications for promotions.

There are three types of categories in most of the MTIs (medical teaching institutions) i.e. civil servants, institutional employees, those recruited under the 2002 Ordinance, and the institutional employees employed under the MTI Act 2015.

Following the promulgation of the MTI Act 2015, the institutional employees were given a chance if they wanted to join the institution-based private practice (IBP) and become MTI members to continue their status as institutional employees.

The option was supposed to be exercised only once. However, the institutional employees, who chose to continue their private practice outside of the institution, were not only deprived of their promotions, but were also excluded from becoming heads or chairpersons of their respective departments, playing any administrative role, or getting shares in the hospital.

Those promoted recently in LRH have been served notices by the hospital administration for not joining IBP.The Board of Governors (BoG), headed by Prof Zubair Khan, had reportedly assured the institutional employees to avail their promotions, and they would not be forced to join IBP. In 2016, the LRH administration had promoted certain institutional employees to the post of assistant after the MTI Act 2015 without any condition of IBP.

“This is the same MTI Act 2015, so why the hospital administration is not promoting us. This is denial of fundamental rights. We are senior most doctors who spent our lives in serving this province and its people in difficult circumstances,” a faculty member told The News. According to the MTI Act 2015 Section 17, many institutional employees opted for private practice outside the hospital as per MTI Act 2015.

In view of this statutory provision to do IBP inside the hospital is illegal and unwarranted and has no legal standing and it does not apply to all institutional employees. The Appellate Tribunal in Dr Mohammad Inam’s promotion case, has categorically dismissed the impugned letter issued by then chairman Policy Board, Dr Nausherwan Burki on January 5, 2023 as illegal and ultra vires, having no legal justification.

Dr Mohammad Inam of orthopedic department in LRH had challenged his promotion case in the Appellate Tribunal and at the Peshawar High Court when the LRH administration refused to implement the verdict of the Appellate Tribunal.

He won his case in both the Appellate Tribunal and the PHC. The court verdict available with The News stated that the institutional employees were not required to join IBP after promotions. He singlehandedly fought since 2018 and proved the LRH administration wrong.

The LRH administration rather than implementing the court order was reportedly considering to challenge it in the Supreme Court. It paved the legal way for promotions of other institutional employees in MTIs.

It helped and encouraged the recently promoted faculty members in LRH to move the court and challenge the show-cause notices served on them by the hospital administration asking them to join IBP after promotions. The LRH administration had formed an inquiry committee to investigate the matter but the committee members resigned after the court ruled in favour of Mohammad Dr Inam. There were many other doctors waiting for their long-awaited promotions but the LRH administration stopped the promotion cycle.

When asked why did the LRH administration stop the promotion of the faculty, Dr Junaid Sarfaraz, Dean LRH told The News that: “Whoever occupies the seat has to implement the policy decisions, rules and regulations communicated to his/her office through august bodies, boards and authorities without fail and without prejudice”.

When contacted, Dr Zubair Khan, chairman BoG LRH argued that they have been stopped by the government from taking any further action. The current Policy Board, headed by Prof Ziaul Islam, had a meeting on February 6, 2024, had approved promotions of the doctors in MTIs, who fulfilled the required criteria.