PESHAWAR: The government has appointed Prof Shehzad Al(bar Khan as medical director and Prof Noor Wazir as dean at the medical teaching institution of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) for three years term.

Dr Anees Akhtar was named as new hospital director of HMC. All the appointments were made on the recommendations of different selection committees, which interviewed the candidates shortlisted by a national company after scrutiny.

Prof Akbar, head of surgical ward at HMC, was an interim hospital director before his new assignment as medical director. He will be responsible for clinical development and supervising diagnostic, treatment and patients-related matters. Prof Akbar, who is familiar with the National Health Services UK, has worked as director of the accident and emergency department (A&ED) at HMC for the past four years.

Prof Noor Wazir, who is in-charge of medical ward at the hospital, also worked as MD for interim period. He has been appointed as dean to lookafter all the academic worl< and he will also be principal of the Khyber Girls Medical College. They have been appointed on contract, extendable on the basis of performance.

According to the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015, their services can be terminated by the BoG in case of under-performance on a one month notice.

Dr Akhtar, who retired as director at Peshawar Health Services Academy last year, has been appointed the hospital director and will look after administrative affairs. He remained additional administrator at the Lady Reading Hospital, and medical superintendent at the district headquarters hospitals in Bannu and Swabi.

He is pioneer of the Maulvi Jee Hospital, Peshawar.

The government enforced the MTIRA in the four teaching hospitals and the affiliated medical colleges in January 2015 to change the old system, but the progress in this regard was almost halted due to cases lodged against the key appointments.

Sahibzada Mohammad Saeed, chairman BoG of HMC, said that the selection committee forwarded names ofthree persons for each of these posts from which the top ones were recruited.

They will work on one year probation.

`The new administration will get targets and their performance will be evaluated by external auditors. We have taken long time to make these appointments to ensure merit and transparency,` he said.

These crucial appointments will pave the way for the full-fledged enforcement of the law, including launching of institution-based practice at the hospital, he said. Sahibzada Saeed said that majority of the staff was willing to start the IBP in evening shift. He said that the newlyappointed MD and dean would appoint director finance, managers, director nursing, etc for which short-listing had already been completed.

He said that they had set goals to make available all tests at the pathology department, which had currently been facilitating 55 per cent of the diagnosticservicessopatientscouldbebenefited. `A new CT scan and MRI machines are being installed. We want to ensure one nurse for 10 beds in the next couple of months as part of our strategic plan to make improvement, he said.