PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is under pressure to appoint a full-time health minister following the recent deaths at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) here due to oxygen shortage as demand is increasingly being made for resignation of Taimur Saleem Jhagra.
Jhagra was the minister for finance when he was given the additional charge of the health portfolio after the sacking of Shahram Khan Tarakai, the minister of health, along with Mohammad Atif Khan and Shakil Ahmad from the cabinet in January 2020 on disciplinary grounds. Even after the passage of about 11 months, the provincial government has been unable to decide who should be the new health minister. Jhagra has continued to manage the two portfolios, both full-time jobs with heavy workload. He seems to have taken a liking for running the health portfolio and was happy to retain the portfolio along with his original charge as finance minister. Or the government is unable to find a suitable choice for managing the health ministry.
Perhaps this stop-gap arrangement would have continued if the tragedy at the KT hadn’t happened. As things stand, the government would have to do something to do damage control. The incident, which shocked everyone, is still under investigation as another committee has now being formed to probe it and tough action would have to be taken to satisfy the victims’ families. A new, capable health minister would have to be appointed to lead an effective team at the department. Jhagra should be asked to run the finance ministry and give up the health portfolio.
The government’s health reforms under MTI are also being questioned in the aftermath of the KTH incident as the PTI has been claiming that the working of the public hospitals has improved under the new system. It is true that the Board of Governors under the MTI are responsible for managing the affairs of KTH and other public hospitals and this line of reasoning was given by Jhagra when he asked the KTH’s BoG to investigate the incident. However, the overall responsibility of running the health department, implementing the MTI reforms and improving patient-care rests with the provincial government and the people would be looking to it to provide answers to the many questions that arose after the KTH tragedy.
In fact, the preliminary inquiry report about the incident revealed how badly the hospital was being run. Failure to renew the oxygen supply agreement in writing and extending the contract to the Rawalpindi-based company verbally, staff hired to manage oxygen supply lacking skills, those on duty being absent, etc are glaring omissions and those found guilty need to be punished under relevant laws.
There were reports that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan was planning to reshuffle his cabinet after the Senate elections scheduled to be held in March next year. Perhaps he didn’t want to annoy the lawmakers until the crucial vote. However, the KTH incident may force his hand to bring certain changes in the cabinet before the Senate elections. He may have to change portfolios and select the right persons for the ministerial jobs, particularly those like health and education that affect more people and were supposed to undergo major reforms as promised by the PTI.