‘Government has put the future of doctors at stake’

KARACHI: Secretary-General, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA Centre), Dr S M Qaisar Sajjad, recently noted that the federal government had put the future of thousands of doctors in danger by closing the Regional Offices of the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC).

Secretary-General, PMA Centre, Dr Qaisar Sajjad, said that doctors are suffering owing to the PMDC dilemma since January 2019, when the President of Pakistan promulgated the PMDC ordinance 2019. The senate, through a resolution, rejected the ordinance later.

An identical document was promulgated on 19 October 2019 under the name of the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) ordinance and the Medical Tribunal ordinance 2019. The Islamabad High Court declared them null and void on 11 February 2020.

Now, the PMDC office has been sealed; the regional offices are also nonfunctional for the past several months. Doctors serving abroad and in Pakistan are very disturbed owing to this situation as they are unable to get registered or get their registration renewed or acquire their good standing certificates, he added.

The situation is affecting medical education as well, which is already in shambles. Additionally, the process of accreditation and inspection of medical institutions has also been stopped, he noted.

Dr Qaisar Sajjad said that the solution to all these problems lies in making the PMDC an independent, autonomous, transparent, democratic, and vibrant body, according to the PMDC Ordinance of 1962.

He demanded the federal government immediately restore the PMDC and open all regional offices to end the uncertainty prevailing in the doctors’ community.

-MN Report