Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Islamabad on Thursday demanded of the quarters concerned to repeal the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Act, 2020 and restore the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Act 2012. Addressing a press conference, President PMA Dr. Akhtar Ali Bandesha alongwith Senior Vice President Dr. Syeda Luba Hussain, General Secretary Dr. Mubashar Mushtaq Daha and Joint Secretary Dr Syed Abid Shah, expressed the hope that all genuine demands of doctors will be accepted by the present new government and revise the PMC and MTI laws.
Dr Bandesha rejected the Federal Medical Teaching Institution (FMTI) Act, 2021, and said that the past government introduced this law just to promote nepotism and favoritism.
He added, this act has damaged the service structure of doctors, nurses and para medical staff besides increasing difficulties for patients. He appealed the new government to restore the old service structure and experience-based promotion policy for doctors in the federal and provincial hospitals.
He also demanded of the quarters concerned to make the health allowance of doctors as per their basic salaries as such policy was being implemented in other government organizations. Dr Bandesha demanded to release COVID allowance to all employees of department of health.
He said that the PMC should start old final registration system after house job for doctors instead of prevailing faulty National Licensing Exam (NLE), which is now mandatory for medical students. The PMA president demanded of the quarters concerned to cancel the policy of having minimum 65% marks for appearance in the MDCAT test and start holding this test at provincial level.
He said that the PMC has made the grading system as doubtful, which was started in the medical and dental colleges and asked to stop this practice.
