Supreme Court to Assess State of Affairs in KP Hospitals

ISLAMABAD: A three- judges bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, displayed disappointment over the way Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ’s teaching hospitals were being operated.

The Supreme Court obtained complete report of the alleged irregularities in selection of the institute’s administrative staff and their Board of Governors (BoG).

The CJP recalled his visits to the province’s health institutions and revealed how many operating theatres were not functional.

A representative of Young Doctors Association (YDA) wrote a letter to the apex court, highlighting favouritism and nepotism performed by province’s former Chief Minister, who allegedly selected incompetent people as authoritative figures, violating rules and regulations.

The letter also mentioned about Dr. Nausherwan Burki; a US National, who was elected as the Chairman of the Lady Reading Hospital Board, as well as the Chairman of the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology, allegedly violating the apex court’s verdict against leading two positions at the same time. Likewise, Mr. Faisal Sultan had been selected as Chairman of Khyber Teaching Hospital’s BoG, while he was also listed as the Chief Executive Officer of Shaukat Khanum Hospital. The letter claimed that both Dr. Burki and Mr. Faisal were closely related to PM Imran Khan.

The YDA representative revealed names of more members who were employed on the basis of alleged nepotism.

In response to the controversial letter, a reply was furnished before the Supreme Court on behalf of KP Chief Secretary, Mr. Muhammad Azam Khan who revealed that the provincial cabinet had decided to re-appoint the services of the Medical Teaching Institutions’ BoGs.

Professionals with eminent qualifications will be hired, to improve the services of such institutes.

According to the CJP, the Health Sector should be given top most priority, in terms of all aspects, starting from basic cleanliness to provision of quality care. The Supreme Court ordered to acquire complete details regarding all the BoG’s currently serving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s teaching hospitals.