PESHAWAR: The continuing promotion process of doctors is being impacted, as sources have indicated, by the requirement placed on the Board of Governors of medical teaching institutions (MTI) to abstain from making significant judgments.
Physicians reported that the government’s new orders had halted the process of moving them up to the next grade in MTIs. They claimed that their promotions were entirely merit-based and that they ought to be granted in order to accommodate patients’ increasing needs.
They informed this writer that the government’s ban on hiring, firing, and promoting employees in MTIs was irrational since these actions shouldn’t be confused with job advancement. They claimed that since they met the requirements for experience and qualifications set down by law, they were entitled to advance to higher grades.
BoGs of MTIs were prohibited by the government on Tuesday from making significant decisions. Additionally, it has stopped the process of choosing doctors to be promoted. Physicians have petitioned the government to permit their promotions because they are solely academic in nature.
Doctors stated that “promotions are awarded in a transparent way after fulfillment of due process.”
According to consultants in the clinical and basic sciences departments of medical colleges covered by MTI, committees had approved their promotions long ago in accordance with the Medical Teaching Institutions Act, which was put into effect by the government in 2015.
According to them, the majority of the doctors who were subject to the prohibition had previously received requests for their advancement from their individual deans.
“Numerous roles are open in every MTI, and advancement procedures are underway in the fields of medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, pediatrics, gynecology, ENT, ophthalmology, accident and emergency rooms, and other specialties,” stated a physician specialist.
He claimed it was time for him to get promoted. Since the promotion had nothing to do with the caretaker administration, he pleaded with the chief minister to permit it. He claimed that medical promotions were commonplace.
There’s a brain drain because half of the nurses have already left the country and the other half are considering their alternatives. According to him, it is against basic human rights to deny employees a promotion.
The expert stated that with the increasing patient load, a teaching hospital could not function without consultants. He claimed that there weren’t enough specialists at MTIs to check on every patient, which could have a detrimental effect on the standard of care.
This scribe was informed by a surgeon that hiring junior doctors will be made possible by the advancement of the current personnel. He stated that in MTIs, about 80% of the positions for medical officers were unfilled.
The MTI Policy Board had requested that the chairs of the corresponding BoGs start the process of choosing physicians for promotions and suggest standards for advancement.
The board decided during its meeting that the current promotion criteria were extremely stringent and unachievable for many.
As a result, a standard that was neither either strict nor overly flexible should be adopted. Faculty promotion was started by MTIs in response to Policy Board directives.
Physicians claimed that preventing BoGs from taking big actions was a political choice made because the boards held important roles in the healthcare industry. After the PTI government in the province expired, the all-powerful BoGs were replaced by the caretakers. PTI will soon replace the current BoGs of MTIs once more.