PHC orders LRH to take back hike in OPD fee

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday directed the Director Hospital of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) to withdraw the notification on increase in the fee of Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) from Rs20 to Rs30.

A division bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan summoned the hospital director to the court and directed him to revert the OPD fee to Rs20 immediately.

The LRH administration, through a notification, had increased the OPD fee from Rs20 to Rs30 a day earlier. In a notification, the LRH administration stated that the OPD fee would be increased by 150 percent during the next six months. It said that the OPD fee would be increased to Rs40 from April 1. It further said the OPD fee would be raised to Rs50 from July 1, 2019.

The bench took notice of the fee increase in another case of the LRH employees and ordered the Additional Advocate General, Syed Sikandar Shah to ensure the appearance of the Director Hospital LRH in the court. During the hearing, Justice Qaiser Rashid questioned the Director Hospital, Dr Khalid Masud on what grounds the OPD fee had been increased.

He observed that the people had already been facing hardships in the purchase of medicines due to exorbitant increase and now the hospital increased the OPD fee, where poor patients turned for treatment. The hospital director informed the bench that the increase in OPD fee was the decision of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the MTI LRH and that he notified the decision. However, the court directed the director to withdraw the notification and submit a compliance report on January 30, the next date of hearing. The hospital step to increase the OPD fee had drawn widespread criticism on the social media and reported in the media after which the court took notice of the matter.