LAHORE - The Board of Management (BoM) of Jinnah Hospital/Allama Iqbal Medical College has recommended a panel of three doctors to the Punjab Health Department to fill the vacant post of medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital. The post was lying vacant for the last five days after the Punjab government transferred MS Jinnah Hospital Dr Umer Farooq Baloch on the recommendations of the BoM. According to the sources, after the transfer of Dr Umer Farooq, the BoM chairman called an emergency meeting in which various issues relating to service delivery and administration were discussed in detail. The top agenda item was the appointment of new MS while the board members also discussed about the problems relating to the administration as well as faced by the affiliated college due to former MS Dr Umers misconduct with senior doctors and the principal. The participants of the BoM meeting unanimously agreed to play its role and make efforts for the posting of an honest and diligent health officer as new medical superintendent in future. It was also decided that the members would use their influence to ensure posting of new MS on the recommendations of the BoM. The sources said the meeting recommended three senior doctors for the coveted slot including former MS Jinnah Hospital and presently working as MS Mayo Hospital Dr Zahid Pervez, Medico Legal Surgeon Punjab Capt (r) Dr Ghulam Shabbir and Additional Medical Superintendent (AMS) Jinnah Hospital Dr Riffat Amin Niazi, who is currently holding the charge of Acting MS of the Jinnah Hospital. The recommendations has been moved to the Punjab Health department which would sent a summery to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for final approval. During the discussion, most of the BoM members held Dr Zahid Pervez as most favourite candidate for the post as he had already discharged his duties as MS Jinnah Hospital and the matters were being run in a efficient and better way in his tenure. Some members were of the view that Dr Ghulam Shabbir was also capable of running the hospitals affairs due to his vast experience. It is worth mentioning that the Punjab Health department transferred Dr Zahid Pervez from the Jinnah Hospital and posted him as MS Mayo Hospital on the directions of the Chief Minister Punjab on the basis of some reports that the countrys largest and premier hospital Mayo Hospital Lahore had not been managed properly and Dr Zahid could easily overcome the problems as he had spent 10 years in the said institute on major posts. It is reliably learnt that the health department is also not willing to transfer Dr Zahid from the Mayo Hospital Lahore to any other department or hospital. So the Punjab government has little choice now in case it acts upon the advice of the board as one of the three candidates, AMS Dr Riffat Amin Niazi, is health officer in grade 19 while the names of doctors are being recommended for grade 20 post. In a different scenario, the Punjab Health Department could also post MS of its own choice again, other than being recommended by the BoM of the Jinnah Hospital.