KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) had its biennial central council meeting and biennial general assembly meeting at the PMA House Karachi. It was attended by a good number of delegates across the country, both physically and virtually.
The constitutional agenda was followed in these meetings. Different reports based on the association's two-year activities were presented by the Secretary-General PMA, Dr S M Qaisar Sajjad, and were unanimously adopted by the Central Council Meeting.
The scrutiny process of nomination papers for elections of the PMA Central’s national office bearers for the term 2020–2022 was first done at the Central Council and then in a general body meeting, after which the office bearers were elected unopposed and declared successful.
The names of office-bearers of PMA Centre include President Dr Salma Aslam Kundi (from KPK), Hon President-Elect Dr Hameed Ullah Khan (from Balochistan), Hon Secretary-General Dr S M Qaisar Sajjad (from Sindh), Hon Treasurer Dr Qazi M Wasiq (from Sindh), Hon Joint Secretary-I Dr Amir Saleem (from Punjab), Hon Joint Secretary-II Dr Akbar Ali Soomro (from Sindh) and Hon Chairman Dr Sarwar Jamil Siddiqui (from, Sindh).
Other than the official business at meetings, the PMA also lauded and remembered the services of doctors who died fighting bravely in the war against the coronavirus.
During the meeting, doctors were requested to take care of themselves and not examine patients without wearing PPEs. The life of a doctor is very important for the nation during this difficult time. They should avoid shaking hands and avoid going into any functions.
The meeting participants also showed their concern over the rapid increase of COVID-19 patients throughout the country during the second wave of the pandemic. They demanded to increase the testing capacity and the strict implementation of SOPs.
The meeting also requested the public to follow SOPs strictly, including wearing a mask whenever you go out, maintaining social distancing, and washing or sanitizing your hands after regular intervals.
The meeting also took notice of the chaos at the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) and the deteriorating standard of medical education in the country. It is very disappointing that the Vice President of the PMC, a lawyer by profession, is running the affairs of the PMC single-handedly; thus, it is a one-man show, which is unacceptable.
The PMC could not conduct the MDCAT exam for the last six months and thus wasted the students’ precious time. After six months, they conducted a very disorganized exam that was full of flaws. In many cases, names against roll numbers were written wrong, and many students who appeared in the exam were marked absent. Students and parents are protesting against the exam.
The meeting unanimously demanded the government to abolish the PMC and restore the PMDC. The PMA believes that the government should spend more on preventing diseases rather than the curative side.
-MN Report