IN what is being described as a quantum leap to undo legislation of the previous government, the National Assembly has finally repealed the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Act, which was brought in by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf much to the chagrin of medical professionals, and has passed a bill to abolish the Pakistan Medical Council Act and reconstitute the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) in order to allay concerns of medical students.
The two bills have already sailed through the Senate and are likely to become an act of the parliament in the next couple of days after getting assent of President Dr Arif Alvi. After becoming an Act of the parliament, the PMDC would be revived.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), as the amendments allow, will include three members from civil society to be nominated by the Prime Minister on the recommendations of the minister concerned, a retired high court judge or a practicing lawyer with a minimum experience of 15 years, the surgeon general of the armed forces medical services, provincial health secretaries, five licensed medical professionals, including one dentist, a chartered accountant, one philanthropist and elected members from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan.
The fact that the two bills seeking improvement in a law governing policies related to medical education and medical practice in the country were passed by the National Assembly without any debate has raised many an eye-brow in the present opposition’s camp, who see the move as an attempt on the part of the government to pave way for incompetent medical professionals to occupy lucrative positions in the future set-up. They have voiced fears that the law would serve the interests of a certain group or mafia in the medical field. But, the ruling alliance, on the other hand, contends that the new law would allow the government to abolish the much-despised board of governors (BoGs) and the hospitals would take a sigh of relief when they are no longer under the control the BoGs.
The federal government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had repealed the PDMC ordinance in 2019 after withdrawing it from the Senate. In the same year, the President promulgated an ordinance dissolving the PMDC to replace it with the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC).
Initially, medical professionals and students raised a number of objections and pointed out flaws in the amended law that the constitution of PMC would create professional and legal problems for them, but the then government disregarded their concerns and went ahead with putting in place the new organization without taking the stakeholders onboard.
Medical professionals and students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have appreciated the federal government’s move to disband the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) and to repeal the MTI Act, which, they say, would go a long way to bring improvement in the medical profession. Indeed, the new legislation which allows the federal government to reconstitute the PMDC and do away with the MTI Act has yet to determine whether the incumbent government brings transparency in provision of healthcare services to people, or it inducts members of its choice in the new council.
It is yet to be seen whether the amendments achieve their basic objectives and bring a higher standard to medical education and practice, or restore confidence in the future medical fraternity in the country.
