This aims to seek the wise attention of Hon. Sindh's Minister for Health on burning issue of PNMC

by Shabbir Hussain Jhatial

 Honorable Madam Minister

 

اسلام علیکم !

With reference to tagged news item linked to your views on PNMC mayhem and its solution , I humbly put my observations in good faith and in enhancement of better quality of the nursing workforce for which your good offices have been striving for.

In this context I as a privy to PNMC,  submit my sincere observations to substantiate the expressed point of view about its decentralization.

Hon.  Madam !

As per my understanding, the existing legal and procedural pisition, this is desirable and feasible possible if provincial governments convince the Federal Government to decentralize the Council to provinces in the wake of rightsizing policy of the Federal Government. Since statuary Councils are in concurrent list and to decentralize it, the consent of central government seems mandatory.

In the background of utter failures of PNMC functioning according to its statuary mandate, the MoNHSR&C and some INGOs have termed PNMC as its unresolvable institution that mostly remains in litigation and under constant scandals with repercussions on our nursing workforce's image loss at national and global level. All interventions from Presidential Ordinance 2021 to Amendment in PNC ACT in 2023 could not functionalize it. It is in noose dive.

So much so that after almost eight years of abortive interventions now the Federal Government/ MoNHSR&C has proposed to purge it as ingovernable entity and merge it with another Council. Unfortunately the merger has its own negative percussions.

Hon.Madam Minister !

Since, your government successfully negotiated with the Federal Government in complex cases of NICH, NICVD  and JPMC and got these decentralized to Government of Sindh. And thank God that  these great public institutes are saved from disintegration and today they are thriving as best models of governance.

Same is possible for PNMC decentralization, albeit, a little different way that you must be knowing far far better. But for the sake of reinforcement I submit  the feasibility of saving PNMC as unique entity of nurses and midwives as decentalized entity.

R/ Madam 

If the provincial governments ask and convince the Federal Government, it can pass on the Council to provinces like in numerous countries. The Federal  Government could do it happily since PNMC is consuming its costly time in unending litigations, corruption scandals, Parliamentary Committees Proceedings, Inquiries in the Federal Investigative Agencies and defamation in the Media.

Observing your press talk, it is reinforced that it could be only the only solution that your peoples government may offer to resolve the persistent headache of PNMC that go around and come around for years.

If the  same is desired from both provinces, the Punjab Government is highly likely to follow the suite since it is also utterly unsatisfied and even frustrated with the PNMC coterie who have been mocking the big province by clever maneuvering. It seems that the KPK will also be happy with decentralization.

 The central government being your allied one  might see it as God-given opportunity to get rid of the chronic malaise and to divert their attention to other challenges.

Even the sanner elements in Nursing- Midwifery Community across Pakistan will be happy if their identity of the Council is retained as being an exclusive regulatory body of their own.

Thank you for kind attention Honorable Madam Minister !

Faithfully

Shabir Hussain Jhatial 

Principal Korangi College of Nursing Karachi Sindh.

(Ex Director Nursing/ Ex Executive Commitee Member of PNC/PNMC)