Prime Minister Imran Khan said Thursday that the Law / Ordinance of Medical Education Institutions (MTI) was not an attempt to privatize public sector hospitals, but intended to "allow an improved and modern management of public sector hospitals. ".
His statement comes after the Punjab Medical Education Institutions Ordinance (Reforms) 2019 was enacted this week.
In a post shared on Twitter, Prime Minister Imran clarified that the process was part of a public sector hospital reform plan.
"Hospitals will continue to be government hospitals. Better managed hospitals will mean better facilities for patients."
Read: Teaching hospitals run by BoGs according to the new law in Punjab
The MTI Ordinance (Reforms) of Punjab 2019, drafted according to the model of the MTI Law of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was promulgated after the governor of Punjab signed it on Monday with the approval of the prime minister.
After the measure, doctors, opposition political parties and social circles denounced the ordinance with associations of young doctors, nurses and paramedics who pledged to resist the measure. The PML-N had announced that it would take the issue to a court of law, while the PPP threatened to protest against the measure and raise the issue at the Punjab Assembly.
According to the MTI Ordinance, government hospitals would be in charge of a fully trained Board of Governors (BdG), which would be made up entirely of members of the private sector.
"The BoGs will also have powers for the appointment of administrative officials in the key positions and the appointment of members of the high-level faculty. The position of director will become Dean, who will be appointed by the BoG for a period of five years." he indicated.
Similarly, according to the document, there would be a management committee for each hospital, consisting of a hospital director, a medical director, a director of nursing and finance and two members appointed by the BoG.
Earlier, an official said that during a meeting in Lahore on Monday, the prime minister admonished Punjab's health minister, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, for the delay in the application of the MTI Act. The official said the health minister had informed the prime minister that the MTI bill could not be presented at the provincial assembly due to the expected turmoil of opposition political parties.
He added that Prime Minister Imran expressed dissatisfaction with the state of medical care in the hospitals of the Punjab government and gave the minister 15 days to make improvements. Consequently, the ordinance was promulgated without further delay.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1503670/mti-ordinance-does-not-mean-privatisation-of-public-hospitals-says-pm-imran
