ISLAMABAD-A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services (NHS) formed to examine the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance 2019 unanimously disapproved the ordinance, recommending the committee not to pass it, The Nation has learnt on Friday.
Senate Standing Committee on NHS had formed a sub-committee comprising Senator Ashok Kumar, Senator Dr Asad Ashraf and Senator Dr Sikandar Mandhro to examine the PMDC 2019 ordinance.
Government earlier this year had introduced a new ordinance for PMDC and formed a new council to run the department. Officials said that the entire newly formed council will be dissolved if the government fails to pass the ordinance from parliament.
Currently the ordinance after passing from National Assembly Standing Committee of NHS was in Senate Standing Committee where legislatures expressed concerns on it.
The sub-committee in its report said: “All members of the sub committee unanimously disapproved the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinance 2019.
The sub-committee is of the consensus view that the Government may introduce a bill in the parliament to amend the PM&DC Ordinance 1962 if it so requires. Therefore the sub-committee unanimously recommends that the standing committee on National Health Services and regulations may not pass Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ordinanace,2019”.
Report available with The Nation said that the sub-committee expresses its strong concerns over the circulation of the PMDC Ordinance 2019 as it is not justifiable on any ground. “It is fraud on the constitution and subversion of democratic legislative processes,” said the report.
It also said that the cub-committee is of the view that there is no need for cancelling the earlier PMDC Ordinance 1962 by the PMDC Ordinance 2019 especially when all international recognitions of PMDC and registered degrees of PMDC are based on the 1962 ordinance.
Report added that after in-depth deliberations the sub-committee concluded that the PMDC ordinance 2019 is almost identical to the PMDC Ordinance 1962 which was amended by the PMDC (Amendment) Act 2012 and there is no justification to repeal an entire law by way of promulgating an Ordinance.
It said that all accreditations and recognitions gained by PMDC in the world were on the basis of PMDC ordinance 1962 and after the PMDC ordinance 2019 all the accreditations processes will have to be re-initiated under the new law which will take decades and this will harm the international established status of PMDC as medical regulatory authority in the world and will adversely affect the job prospects of Pakistan doctors abroad.
The report said that the sub-committee also noted with concern that the entire law of PMDC which was the backbone of medical profession since 1962 was suddenly replaced by the PMDC Ordinance 2019 which is bound to create confusion for the international regulatory bodies and accreditation bodies.
It also said that all accreditation and recognitions gained by PMDC in the world were based on the PMDC Ordinance 1962 and if PMDC Ordinance 2019 is approved then the entire process of international recognition has to be started from scratch and would not be a service to the noble profession of medicine and PMDC would become the youngest in the community of medical regulators from being oldest and most respected.
It said that the sudden loss of all recognitions accreditations of PMDC would severely harm the present and future job prospects of the Pakistani doctors abroad.