LAHORE: The Punjab health department has initiated a process for the `contractual appointment` of private/retired professors as heads of the two staterun cardiac institutes Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology (NSIC), Sargodha, and Jinnah Institute of Cardiology (JIC), Lahore.

The move has thrown more than 25 serving professors of cardiology/cardiac surgery out of the race for the top slots of the government institutes in question, sending shocl(waves among most of them who believed that some elements in the health sector wanted their favourites at both posts. Of them, nine professors in BPS-20 are serving the Punjab Institute of Cardiology while others are in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi,Multan, Bahawalpur Rahim Yar Khan cardiac institutes besides Mayo Hospital, Jinnah and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The sources say that some influential health authorities are behind the move of filling the top slots of the above-mentioned institutes by hiring private/ retired doctors on the pattern of the Pakistan Kidney & Liver Institute (PKLI). They ignored the hard facts that the JIC and NSIC Sargodha required the same process that was adopted for the appointment of head of the other government cardiac institutes like the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology (FIC), Multan Institute of Cardiology (MIC) etc.

An official, privy to the information, says the Punjab health department`s sudden proposal came to the limelight when it advertised the post of the chief executive officer (CEO) of the NSIC, Sargodha, seeking applications from the retired/private medics only for the posts on a contract basis. He says there are reports that a similar move is in process for the newly estab-lished JIC, Lahore, but it has been delayed for a `brief period` as the authorities are waiting for the retirement of an `interested candidate`.

As per the advertisement, the eligible age to apply for the post for the NSIC, Sargodha, is 65 years.

On the other hand, the of ficial informs, the eligibility age criteria for the CEOs of the other public sector cardiac institutes is that they are hired from amongst regular professors of cardiology/cardiac surgery of BPS-20 working in government of Punjab with 60 years as age for retirement. Furthermore, the regular serving Punjab government consultants shall not be able to apply unless they resign from their respective services, leaving only one option for them to sacrifice their government jobs to avail the other opportunity.

The official adds that in case any of them takes a hard decision to quit the government job to contest for the contractual appointment, he would be at a much greater risk of losing the both positions if not selected for the second one.

About the PKLI model, hesays, that it is being run by the board of governors (BoG) while the Punjab government`s other cardiology institutes, including PICLahore,aregovernedbythe Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act 2003.

The official laments that the Punjab government is funding the PKLI every year while its BoG is exercising all administrative/financial powers to decide the highly lucrative pays and the shares to the working consultants, which, in some cases, reach to millions per year. Interestingly, he claims, there is a limited number/percentage of the patients getting free-of-cost treatment at the PKLI while others are paying heavy fees for the available services.

On the other hand, the of ficial says, allkinds of services at the other publicsectorcardiacinstitutes are absolutely free for all.

If the PKLI model is followed in letter and spirit, it may disturb the operational balance amongst other six premier cardiology institutes of Punjab and deprive many poor patients of their right to free treatment.

Punjab Health Special Secretary Tariq Rehmanirefused to comment on the issue.

Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique fully supports the move, saying the prime objective of the scheme is to introduce the highly experienced and educated national and international faculty for both on the PKLI pattern. He claims that the initiative would also help the government to make the hired consultants accountable for not achieving the task of providing the best treatment facilities to the patients.

`The Punjab government would also grant one-line budget to these institutes on the pattern followed by the PKLI,` he says, rejecting the concerns of the serving consultants, saying the appointments of the retired medics would yield better results under the new initiative as has been reported in the PKLL Declaring the above-mentioned move a violation of merit/ rules to favour friends/influential elite, the affected serving cardiologists and surgeons have urged the Punjab government to reverse/review the controversial decision as they deserve to apply for the posts for the vacancies.