Doctor sacked for not serving corona patients

PESHAWAR: A medical officer of the Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex in Nowshera was removed from service on Wednesday allegedly over his refusal to serve in the corona Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU).

Hospital Director Dr Arshad Ahmad removed Dr Mohammad Nizzamuddin on the recommendations of the disciplinary committee.

The hospital issued a notification saying Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin’s case was referred to the hospital disciplinary committee after he refused to work in the ICU and HDU meant for the corona patients.

The disciplinary committee heard Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin and fulfilled all legal requirements before recommending his removal from service. He had been recruited on fixed pay. According to the officials of the Health Department and sources in the hospital in Nowshera, a number of doctors and other health workers had constantly refused to serve the corona patients and they would refer such patients to Mardan and Peshawar.

According to official sources, the hospital was always in the headlines for its poor management and issues related to patients. The hospital is stated to be suffering from interference of the local politicians and their support for the union leaders.

The government recently sent there a senior management cadre officer, Dr Arshad Ahmad as hospital director and tasked him to take drastic measures and put the hospital on the right track.

Dr Arshad Ahmad, BPS-20, is a former director general of Health Services. Being a tertiary care hospital and Medical Teaching Institute, patients taken there from Nowshera used to be referred to the Mardan Medical Complex and the hospitals in Peshawar, even though the same services were available there.

According to sources, the Dr Arshad Ahmad had held a detailed meeting with the staff and explained to them that his prime objective was to make the hospital the best available health facility.

He stopped referrals to other hospitals, ex they don’t have the facility available in Nowshera. “There were 14 beds for corona patients in the hospital here in Nowshera but Dr Arshad raised the tally to 114 beds.

The staff was previously unwilling and is now happily serving and available round-the-clock,” an official of the hospital told The News. It was learnt that the hospital had 10 beds in the ICU, 96 beds in the HDU and their results were recently termed the best in the province.