PESHAWAR: The district administration has taken control of Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Bannu following the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the newly-established Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC) is set to administer 12 districts of the province.
One of the 11 MTIs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, MTI Bannu comprises Bannu Medical College, Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital, Women andC h i 1 d r e n Hospital and D i s t r i e t Headquarters ( D H Q ) Hospital. These in s t it ut i on s were previously governed by Boards of G o y e r n o r s (BoGs) under M e d i e a 1 T e a e h i n g In s t it ut ion s Reforms Act, 2015 (MTIRA).
However, following the change in the p r o v i n c i a 1 administrative s e t u p , D i v i s i o n a 1 Commissioner Na e e mull a h Khan recently held a meeting with the officials of health facilities and conducted adetailed review of healthcare provision, cleanliness and hygiene, round-theclock availability of medical staff, availability of medicines and overall administrative affairs of those hospitals.
The commissioner directed officials to make quality healthcare services their top priority and ensure regular and uninterrupted presence ofdoctors,paramedical staff and other employees during duty hours. He also said that there should be no negligence in the provision of medicines. He added that the highest standards of cleanliness must be maintained in wards, emergency departments, outpatient departments (OPDs) and other sections of the hospital.
This is the first time that administrative authority over MTI Bannu has been placed in the hands of district administration. Under the law, MTIs operate independently without any direct government control and are managed by BoGs comprising professionals, mainly from private sector.
However, the district administration has now assumed control of the institution, with the commissioner appointing focal persons for the hospitals who are required to submit daily reports to him.
According to sources, local officials are also increasingly involved in the dayto-day management of MTIs, including matters relating to transfer, promotion and demotion of employees, which were previously dealt with by the institution’s management under the BoG framework.
As Bannu is among the 12 selected districts, the provincial government is reportedly no longer directly overseeing the MTI. The institution is apparently being brought under a separate administrative arrangement involving the federal government and the newly-designated administration and health authoritiesfor these districts.
A senior BoG member said that the board had been officially informed about the changes. However, the development had created considerable confusion and apprehension among administrative officials and other employees, he added.’We have been waiting for a written notification to clarify the new arrangement and the status of the Board of Governors,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the district administration has said that it focuses on improving administrative affairs and the overall performance of hospitals, making it clear that negligence in the discharge of duties and shortcomings in public service delivery would not be tolerated.
It has also directed hospital administration to ensure that patients and their attendants are treated properly and provided with necessary facilities and timely medical assistance under all circumstances.
Although the BoG of the hospital continues to exist on paper, its practical role appears to have diminished following the introduction of the new administrative arrangement in the selected districts, where a separate health management system is expected to be established.
Faculty members at MTI Bannu told Dawn that the BoG had taken several important initiatives to improve patient care and academic activities including increasing admission seats in medical and dentalcolleges. They expressed the hope that the district administration would continue and support those initiatives instead of disrupting the progress made by the institution.
They recalled that before the introduction of MTIRA, government hospitals were directly controlled by the provincial government. Under the reforms, management powers were transferred to BoGs, which were given considerable autonomy in administrative and financial matters.
The boards were empowered to utilise budgets allocated by the finance department according to institutional requirements, with greater flexibility in decision-making. The MTIRA authorised BoGs to take key administrative, financial and policy decisions aimed at improving patient care and making healthcare facilities more effective and accessible to the public.