Islamabad:
A parliamentary panel was informed on Monday that fifteen medical colleges were recorded without any inspection during the reign of the PTI while none of the 55 nursing colleges recently visited by the Secretary of Health was eligible for accreditation.
The Minister of State for National Health Services, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, informed the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on National Health that 55 nursing colleges were recently visited.
“Depending on the report [submitted by the health secretary]Not a single college was deemed eligible for accreditation. A detailed report is being prepared by Pakistan Nursing Council, “he added. At the Committee meeting, chaired by Mahesh Malani, Abdul Qadir Patel authorized Dr. Shazia Sobia, to discuss the pharmacy bill on his behalf. Patel said as soon as the PPP came to power, he transferred the authority linked to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to the province for own tests.
“However, the provinces were not prepared at the time, which is why the tests could not be carried out immediately. We want the provinces to realize their own enrollments,” he said.
The chairman of the committee referred to the complaints of the students of Al-Nafees Medical College concerning non-registration. Dr. Bharath reiterated that 15 medical faculties were registered during the mandate of the PTI without inspection, and their cases were sent to the Federal Investigation Agency.
The Executive Director of the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIMM) told the Panel that the Institute had now started surgeries to correct the children’s foot.
“Nirm has a medical budget of 40 million rupees, which is very low. For this reason, patients often have to buy medicines. However, we make sure that epilepsy medications are never out of stock,” he said. The committee expressed its concerns about the inadequate medicine budget and stressed that it should be increased. He announced his intention to visit the Institute and make recommendations to the government.
In Punjab, drugs are provided free of charge through the health card system, but even poor patients in some regions are forced to buy them. It has been suggested that Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal should be used to provide drugs to deserving patients.
Rayza Khan
