Islamabad - National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services on Friday unanimously recommended upgrading the Health Service Academy to the status of university.
The meeting of NA body held here in the chair of Dr Hafeez-ur-Rehman Khan Drishak. The committee considered three bills on the agenda.
Director General NHS Dr Asad Hafeez briefing the committee on “The Health Services Academy (Restructuring) Bill, 2017” said that the process of upgrading the academy into a university started in 2011 and the bill has been drafted which would be presented in the parliament likely in upcoming session.
The DG told that the Health Service Academy was given the status of degree awarding institute by the Higher Education Commission in 2016, and that further legislation is required to give it the status of university.
DG health said that the academy after converting into university will become autonomous body which will generate its own funds reducing the financial burden on the government.
He also added that due to the academy’s outstanding performance in research, it was decided to up-grade it to university level to open the opportunities for the people.
DG health also said that the health university will be first of its kind in the country to compete in the world in the field of science and research. The committee unanimously recommended the bill and advised to present it in the upcoming session of national assembly.
Meanwhile, the committee disposed “The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) bill, 2016 because of disagreement on a few clauses in it.
Administrator Human Organs Transplant Authority Brig (Retd) Amir Ikram told the meeting that government has agreed from the bill moved by Member National Assembly Parveen Masood Bhatti largely however the monetary compensation included could not be implemented.
He said that the country had earned a bad reputation internationally because of illegal transplantation against the money while the clause of compensation money included in the bill will encourage the practice again.
“A large number people abroad were taking undue advantage of the absence of law and exploiting the poor against money for purchasing human organs,” he said.
The clause in the bill allows compensating the donor who donates the organ from the family with Rs600000. The government has also restricted the organs donation to close family members only.
Administrator HOTA added that government is preparing Terms of References to make the registry of human organs transplantation to institutionalize the whole process.
Bill mover MNA Parveen Masood Bhatti remarked that the clause of monetary compensation was added to include the persons who do not have relatives but need the transplantation.
Secretary NHS Naveed Kamran Baloch told the committee that the amended bill will be presented in the committee within one month and the legislation process will be enhanced.
The committee disposed the bill and recommended the amendments proposed by the government.
The committee also passed “The Islamabad Healthcare Regulation Bill, 2017” to regulate the healthcare units operating in the federal territory.
DG Health Dr Asad Hafeez briefed the meeting that there is no law to regulate the medical facilities operating in the federal areas and providing insufficient health care to patients.
He said the law will help to curb the illegal practices in medical and homeopathy clinics, quackery business and other services.
“Provinces have the law to control the illegal medical practices but the federal does not,” he said.
MNA Col (rtd) Amirulah Marwat remarked that the federal law will be not applicable on FATA and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) which will deprive the people of its benefits.
DG health responded that the law will be applicable to FATA after the issuance of presidential ordinance for the implementation.
The committee passed the bill unanimously.