LAHORE, Nov 7: The additional financial impact of the `first comprehensive service structure` for doctors of Punjab endorsed by all the stakeholders unanimously on Wednesday with an additional cadre, was estimated to be approximately Rs1.5 billion.

The final announcement of the service structure came when provincial finance department, a major stakeholder, gave its nod to it after analysing financial impact of the doctors demands, a senior official told Dawn.

He said total 54 demands were presented by the medics to the government, a majority of which had already been `accepted` by the officials concerned after detailed deliberations in several meetings held during the last six months or so.

Chief minister`s special assistant on health Khawaja Salman Rafique told Dawn the government had finalised the service structure draft not only for doctors but also for the patients and to strengthen the whole health system in the province.

`Initially, the financial cost of the service structure was estimated at Rs1.5 billion`, he said.

He said the service structure would help streamline the health system, benefiting all cadres of doctors from BS-17 to BS-20.

Tall(ing about some important features of the service structure, he said a fourth cadre Management Cadre had been added to the health system in the draft. Establishment of health services and research academies, streamlining the ACR and promotion system were other major initiatives, he said, adding that the new service structure would also help clear the promotion cases` backlog.

YDA Punjab spokesman Dr Mudasar Razzaq termed it a historic achievement, saying the agreed service structure draft carried many benefits for doctors.

About salient features of the draft, he said in the new service structure the BDS and MBBS doctors would be treated equally with regard to promotion and salary structure which was a remarkable step.

It had been agreed that in future all appointments would be made through Public Service Commission, he said, adding it would discourage the contract appointment system which had several anomalies.Dr Razzaq said the government agreed to consider experience for promotion of all the contract-based doctors who were inducted in the health department after 1997. He said over 6,000 doctors would benefit from this clause of the new service structure.

He further said under the new service structure all the house officers (HOs) would be paid accordingly.

Earlier, he said, around 40 per cent HOs were working in honorary capacity.

Moreover, he said it had been decided that the stipend of an HO would be 50 per cent of take-home salary of a medical officer (MO). Similarly, stipend of a post graduate trainee will be 90 per cent of take-home salary of MO and will be increased by the same ratio every year. He said the current formula for promotion has been changed which meant that additional 400 seats would be created in BS-20 and around 3,500 in BS-17 and BS-18.

Dr Razzaq said for the first time 25per cent quota had been allocated for the promotion of MOs with FCPS qualification to senior registrar slots.

Similarly, 50 per cent quota has also been allocated for the district consultants for their promotion to the next grade while the rest of the consultants will be promoted through PPSC.

In the agreement, it has been decided that 400 new posts of senior registrars will be created all over the province next year.

All eligible senior registrars will be promoted as associate professors within one month of the agreement signed on Wednesday, he said.

The eligibility period of five years for promotion from assistant professor to associate professor slot has been reduced to four years.

About doctors` Annual Confidential Report (ACR), he said it was agreed that the doctors will submit their ACRs to the evaluating official (medical superintendent for gen-eral cadre and principal for teaching cadre) by January 15 every year.

If the evaluating officials failed to forward the ACRs to the authorities concerned, these would be assumed `excellent` automatically, Dr Razzaq said.

`In the new service structure Rs5,000 allowance per month has been agreed for FCPS doctors while Rs2,500 for minor degree holders`, he said.

It was agreed on Monday that the Punjab government would recommend within a month to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for awarding FCPS degree the status equal to PhD. In that case the FCPS allowance would be doubled, he said.

An allowance varying from Rs15,000 to Rs22,000 has also been agreed for the consultants worl(ing at THQ level health facilities which will be named as `hardship area allowance`. In the new system, the MS of a teaching hospital would be authorised to grant 89-day leave to the doctors, Dr Razzaq said.