RIC to get first regular professor as ED since establishment.

LAHORE -- The Punjab government has decided to appoint first regular professor of cardiology/cardiac surgery as executive director (ED) of the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC).

The decision was taken after years of controversy following the posting of a retired officer as head of the RIC in the presence of eligible senior medics since its establishment in 2012.

An advertisement has already been issued, a senior official privy to the development told Dawn.

The 272-bed RIC is the third major state-run cardiac institution of Punjab, which has been catering to the health needs of thousands of heart patients every year. Completed at Rs3.6 billion, the facility was inaugurated on Sept 25, 2012.

The senior official said the post of executive director of RIC fell vacant after the end of tenure of retired Maj Gen Azhar Kayani on April 23 after attaining the age of 65 years against the usual retirement age of 60 for all Punjab government officials. Mr Kayani served as the executive director for eight years after retiring in 2012 from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology Rawalpindi.

His service was extended several times, while the Punjab government has been facing pressure from the medical community to appoint a regular professor as head of the institute.

The official said since the RIC fell under the purview of specialised healthcare and medical education department, several senior...