MULTAN: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has rejected registration of doctors with the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) till the outcome of negotiation with it. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, PMA Punjab president Dr Shahid Rao, Multan president Dr Mehr Muhammad Iqbal and Dr Masoodur Rauf Hiraj said that the PMA had constituted a committee, which was holding negotiation with the Punjab Healthcare Commission. Dr Shahid Rao said that it was settled between the government and the PMA that the Punjab Healthcare rules and regulation would be set in consultation with the PMA but the government did not consult it. He said that the government had fixed June 30 last date for registration while the negotiation between the PMA and the Healthcare Commission was in process. Dr Shahid said that the government had passed the Punjab Healthcare Bill 2015 hurriedly. He said that the Punjab government was living in utopia and copying the European health standards without upgrading the health infrastructure. He said that the government had handed over the Basic Health Units to the Punjab Rural Support Programme but the experiment failed. Now the government had planned to give BHUs and RHCs on contract to private contractors. He said that the PMA would resist the wrong decision at all levels. He demanded the government give the health university status to the Multan Nishtar Hospital. Dr Masood said that the government should encourage the private sector to establish hospitals and health institutions on the pattern of India to extend the state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to the people in far-flung areas, rather than discouraging them by introducing such bills.
