Leadership instability continues to affect institutions under the National Health Ministry after the secretary of the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) was removed. According to sources, it is the third change in the post within just four months.
Sources said Dr. Gill Sanga, a Grade-19 officer serving as temporary PNMC secretary, has been transferred back to the Ministry of Health and appointed Director of Emergency. Dr. Kashif Hussain has been named the new PNMC secretary and will hold the additional charge for three months. He is currently a director under Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal.
Frequent reshuffles leave health bodies without permanent heads
Sources noted that repeated leadership changes have left several bodies under the health ministry without permanent office bearers.
Six-month ban on new nursing and midwifery institutions
Sources said the federal government earlier imposed a temporary six-month ban on establishing new nursing and midwifery institutions. The PNMC has issued formal notifications on the ban to both federal and provincial governments.
The restriction is intended to let the council clear a backlog of pending cases, sources said. During this period, the PNMC will not accept or process new inspection applications for prospective institutions. Applications already submitted will continue to be processed, while new ones will only be entertained after approval from the competent authority once the six months end.
