With medical students suffering, doctors have their own axe to grind

With the chief minister’s plan to open new medical colleges turning out to be a failure, the issue of medical colleges is back in the spotlight. Delay in the affairs of medical institutions has left many aspiring medical students disheartened since despite acquiring good results, they have not been able to get admitted into medical colleges.
Earlier, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had barred the newly established four public medical colleges, including Sahiwal Medical College, DG Khan Medical College, Gujranwala Medical College, and Khwaja Safdar Medical College, Sialkot from admitting students The MBBS classes in Post Graduate Medical College were also deferred at eleventh hour while the dilemma of skyrocketing merit in medical college is likely to prevail for some more years.
A division bench of Lahore High Court on Thursday too restrained University of Health Sciences (UHS) from implementing the First Combined Merit List prepared by it for admission to the medical colleges in Punjab on a petition filed by some students against medical entry test system.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Medical Association demanded government to start MBBS classes immediately in Post Graduate Medical Institute which has been approved by the PMA. “There is no need to defer the classes, the college has all the arrangements,” said PMA President Dr Tanveer Anwar, adding that the classes were not being started because of the personal interests of two seniors of medical fraternity who, he alleged, were Services Institute of Medical Sciences Principal Prof Dr Faisal Masood and University of Health Science Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Malik Mubashar. “Masood wants the PGMI land to construct the SIMS hostel while Mubashar is siding with him because he wants to take PGMI under his control,” he said, adding, “if the PGMI starts working, there would 200 more seats available for students.”
SZH doctors protest against FIR registration: Sheikh Zayed Hospital doctors on Monday again held a protest against registration of a FIR for murder charges on three senior doctors of the hospital. The doctors blocked the road in front of SZH causing traffic mess on Khayaban-e-Jamia Punjab and adjacent localities. Three doctors allegedly committed criminal negligence in treatment of a patient who died after severe illness.