LAHORE: Around 400 doctors and nurses of the Shaikh Zayed Hospital find themselves in a blind alley after the Lahore High Court had recently declared the transfer of the institute from the federal government to Punjab unlawful.

The situation further got complicated when senior faculty and a faction of paramedics announced a drive to declare all the appointments and promotions of the medics and nurses `illegal`.

The LHC in a decision few days back struck down the devolution of the Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute (SZPMI) to the Punjab government and discarded the appointments including that of chairman of the institution.

An official told Dawn that the SZH had during last two years or sotaken a number of decisions and made appointments of the doctors in BS-18 to 19. It was among those government teaching hospitals ofthe province which badly needed doctors and teaching faculty.

He said all the appointments were made by adopting proper pro-cedures. Some 50 medical officers (MOs) and women medical officers (WMOs) were hired after advertising the vacant positions in the national media.

Similarly, the institute had also appointed nine senior registrars by adopting the same procedure given under the rules and regulations.

The official said the institute had made several promotions from BS-18 to 19 and 20 which had been pending for the last many years.

Just last week, he said, 10 senior doctors were granted promotions.

The appointments of nearly 200 nurses and 150 paramedics and employees were another major decision taken by the institute last year.

After the LHC decision, the official said, these employees including doctors and nurses were facing threats ofjoblessness.

A group of paramedics which had gone to litigation against the SZH`s transfer to the Punjab government asked the newlyappointed nursing and paramedic staff to leave their jobs claiming their appointments had been declared illegal. He said the Allied Health Organization of the SZH at a meeting on Monday passed a resolution stating that as the court had declared the appointment of SZH chairman Prof Farid Ahmad Khan illegal, acting charge should be given to the seniormost doctor. The organisation also sent a press release to the media in this regard demanding an impartial inquiry into all the actions and decisions taken by ProfFarid as chairman of the institute.

YDA (SZH chapter) General Secretary Qasim Awan told Dawn that the LHC in its judgement had declared only those appointments illegal which were made by the Punjab government.

`The institutional appointments made by adopting proper process under given law are protected,` he said. `We have called a meeting today (Wednesday) to take a final decision and stance for the protection of the jobs of colleagues,` he said. He said the YDA would launch an agitation if some adverse action was taken against any employee.

Health Secretary Najam Shah said he would come up with a better viewpoint in the light of the recommendations of the law department after the court verdict.