ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday singed the Career
Structure for Health Personnel (CSHP) Ordinance there by giving
incentives to the doctors while retaining their status as public
servants. Briefing the media persons, spokesperson to the President
Farhatullah Babar said the Ordinance addressed the longstanding demand
of medical practitioners and was applicable to the doctors under the
federal government.
The sanction is giving legal sanction to new career structure of health professionals especially doctors, he added.
However,
the provinces could adopt it also as model as health had been devolved
to the provinces after the 18th Amendment, Babar said. “The provinces
have been shown the way but it is for them to adopt their own
structures and systems in health services or take a cue from the
federal government,” he said. The new career structure was prepared
in consultation with all stakeholders and on the basis of consensus of
the medical community and that is what makes it unique. The spokesman
said that the Ordinance is applicable to all health personnel serving
in the Federal health institutions and related organizations under the
jurisdiction of the Federal Government and would come into force at
once and shall deem to have taken effect from 1st day of July 2011.
The new legislation envisages replacing the current Basic Pay Scale
system (BPS-1 to 22) currently applicable to the health personnel with
the special Health Personnel Pay scale (HPS 1 to 13) would be
applicable to all categories of medical practitioners including
paramedics and support services personnel, serving in the Federal
health institutions and related organization under the federal
government. He said that entry into this scheme would be optional for
the existing employees. However, all fresh appointments shall be made
under the new scheme. Every health personnel immediately before the
commencement of this ordinance shall be required to exercise an
irrevocable option either to continue in the present pay and service
structure or to opt for the new scheme within a period of thirty days
from the date of promulgation of this ordinance. The Ordinance
envisages that the monetary benefits of all the health personnel under
the scheme including pay, pension, perks and privileges shall not be
less favorable than those admissible to them before the commencement of
Scheme. Babar said that the honoring the doctors demand
for exclusive career structure along with an independent pay scale
and a performance evaluation system based on evaluating quantifiable
targets the government had fulfilled a long standing demanding of the
medical professionals. Another notable feature of the new career
structure was the health allowances which starting with 2000 rupees a
month would go as high as 45, 000 rupees a month. The health allowance
would be as HPS- 1 to 2 (Rs 2,000), HPS-3 to 5 (Rs 3,000),HPS-6 (Rs
4,000), HPS-7 (Rs 5,000), HPS-8 (Rs 7,000), HPS-9 (Rs 10,000), HPS-10
(Rs 20,000), HPS-11 (Rs 30,000), HPS-12 (Rs 40,000) and HPS-13 (Rs
45,000). The health personnel shall be deemed to be public servants
with the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (Act
XLV of 1860). Online
