KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that if the matter of appointment of the head of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) executive director is not resolved by Monday, he will proceed with the appointment even if it results in contempt of court.
Answering a question during a media briefing in Karachi on Saturday, he lamented that Jinnah Hospital, which is probably the biggest healthcare facility in the country, is currently without a head because the (high) court removed the previous executive director, citing that the individual was on deputation.
Shah mentioned that the case has been ongoing in the court for one and a half to two months. “If the issue is not resolved by Monday, I will take the decision myself.”
He emphasised that he is prepared to face contempt of court if necessary. “If the matter remains unresolved, I will appoint the head of Jinnah Hospital myself and face contempt of court,” he declared.
He added that the summary sent back to him includes three names, all on deputation. “There is no officer above Grade 19 in Jinnah Hospital,” he noted.
Earlier, speaking at the first meeting of the oversight committee (OSC) at the CM House on Saturday, Shah emphasised that free medical treatment was a fundamental right for all citizens.
He identified court stays, internal politics and the barring of the JPMC’s executive director from functioning as major challenges crippling the country’s largest health facility.
He revealed that despite increasing the JPMC’s bed capacity from 1,185 in 2011 to 2,208 by 2024, the number of employees has dropped significantly, from 2,339 to 1,498, leaving the facility struggling to provide adequate healthcare services.
“Millions of patients are being denied their rights due to the failure to employ 2,025 new contractual workers. Moreover, 2,025 individuals are being denied employment because of a court stay involving 19 employees,” he said.
Shah directed the OSC to ensure the efficient operation of the JPMC and National Institute of Child Health (NICH), safeguarding patients’ fundamental rights. He instructed his legal team to get the JPMC executive director restored to facilitate proper functioning in the public interest. The meeting was attended by Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, MPA Saleem Baloch, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Health Secretary Rehan Baloch, Advocate General Hassan Akbar, Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) vice chancellor, Cyberknife head Prof Tariq Mahmood, NICVD Executive Director Prof Tahir Saghir, NICH Executive Director Prof Nasir Saleem Saddal and others.
The OSC has been authorised to make all decisions regarding the JPMC and NICH for 25 years, from August 8, 2023, till August 7, 2048, unless the federal government grants full control to the Sindh government.
The OSC will oversee all aspects of hospital management, including human resources, to ensure quality care for patients and education for medical professionals.
Prof Mahmood briefed the committee on the 25-year operating and management agreement, which includes employment rules for new contractual hires. To address the 1,023 additional beds created since 2011, the Sindh government created 2,025 contractual clinical posts, including 563 FCPS doctors, 878 nurses and 584 technicians.
Shah highlighted that some permanent employees, claiming to be federal government employees, filed lawsuits resulting in stay orders that had hindered patient care.
The Sindh government increased the combined bed capacity of the JPMC, NICH and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) from 2,092 in 2011 to 4,041 in 2024. Their annual budgets had also increased from Rs1.9 billion to Rs25.75 billion during this period.Dr Azra informed the CM that the Sindh government could not make permanent hires under the operational contract. Instead, the JSMU would fulfil faculty requirements for the JPMC and NICH over the next 25 years.To strengthen the JPMC’s academic hierarchy, the Sindh government promoted all 56 permanent doctors. Among them, 37 doctors with higher qualifications were promoted to teaching positions, including 25 to associate professor (BPS-19), 15 to assistant professor (BPS-18) and eight to senior registrar. Additionally, 19 medical officers were promoted to higher grades.
The CM suggested these advancements be treated as incentives and proposed promoting all 37 associate professors at the JPMC to one grade higher faculty positions (BPS-20) at the JSMU.
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