A diatribe that bewilders cardiologists of KP

PESHAWAR: The recent remarks by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that there is only one certified cardiac doctor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has not only bewildered many but also triggered a never-ending debate that who could have provided such an incomplete information to the apex court.

It was, in fact, the failure or negligence on the part of National Intervention Cardiology Board Chairman retired Maj Gen Dr Azhar Kiyani that created misunderstanding between the honourable court and chief executive of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Commission (KPHCC), Dr Maqsood Ali Khan, regarding the number of certified cardiologists in KP.

It was in 2017 when the Supreme Court of Pakistan had taken note of stent scam in the countrywide human rights case 623/17 and then in March 2018 ordered the constitution of the National Interventional Cardiology Board (NICB).

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) was in fact the relevant body for quality evaluation and registration of stents in the country.

The court had noticed a bit of delay at DRAP level in stents registration and, therefore, ordered setting up yet another body for this purpose.

According to Dr Maqsood Ali Khan, the court had ordered establishing NICB in March 2018 but neither retired Maj Gen Dr Azhar Kiyani nor any other official of the federal health department bothered to inform them.

It was a day before the hearing of the case at the Supreme Court of Pakistan when the KP government received a court notice, directing it to submit the report about the number of cardiac doctors registered with NICB.

According to sources, even the bosses of KPHCC were not aware of NICB’s existence and its mandate.

Legally, the erstwhile Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) that is now called Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) is the relevant body for registration of doctors in the country. In the provinces, healthcare commissions are the relevant bodies for regulating healthcare services, registration of doctors and health facilities.

Before appearing in the court, Dr Maqsood Ali Khan collected some information, particularly about the number of cardiac doctors in KP and the services they are providing to patients.

He told the court that all healthcare facilities were registered under Section 12 of KPHCC Act 2015.

He added that all the doctors, including cardiologists and cardiac surgeons who are qualified and registered with Pakistan Medical Commission, are entitled to be registered by KPHCC and authorised to practice.

According to the data of KPHCC provided to the Supreme Court, there are about 41 cardiologists registered with KPHCC and working as intervention cardiologists. Since a single cardiologist from KP had registered himself with NICB, therefore, the Chief Justice remarked that there is only one certified cardiac doctor in the province.

He asked the KPHCC chief executive as to how a single cardiac doctor could do so many procedures.

Dr Miqdad Ali from Rehman Medical Institute (RMI) was the first and only cardiac doctor who had registered himself with NICB from KP.

Thanks to Prof Mohammad Hafizullah, a noted cardiologist who had flooded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with cardiologists, many of them are now known for providing quality services.

The previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-(PTI)-led coalition government had in 2015 passed two important laws from the provincial assembly aimed at introducing massive reforms in the healthcare sector.

They included Medical Teaching Institution Reforms Act 2015 (MTI Act 2015) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Commission Act 2015.

These were the flagship projects of the PTI government but both the previous one and present government paid little attention to the KPHCC.

It was a revolutionary programme and the aim was to discourage quackery and ensure the provision of quality services to patients.

The KPHCC didn’t have its Board of Governors (BoG) for quite a long time and was thus confronted with multiple challenges. It is still lacking professional and qualified staff to initiate its reform programme, though there is a proper BoG in place for more than a year now.