Health dept seeks MS comments on funds’ misuse complaint

LAHORE:On a complaint by a citizen about misuse of funds, the Punjab health department has sought comments from the Medical Superintendent of Mian Munshi DHQ Teaching Hospital/Said Mitha Hospital.

A concerned citizen, Muhammad Nadeem s/o Muhammad Munir, resident of Badami Bagh Lahore, had submitted a complaint before Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department (SHC&MED), accusing the medical superintendent of misappropriating Rs 160 million funds on purchase of unnecessary medical items. It is learnt that Dr Adnan ul Qamar, a grade-18 Senior Medical Officer (SMO), has been posted against a grade-19 post of Medical Superintendent Said Mitha Teaching Hospital, Lahore, on additional charge basis since September 2021. He also holds additional charge of MS of Mian Munshi Hospital, Lahore.

As per the contents of the complaint, the MS allegedly purchased miscellaneous medical items worth Rs160 million out of medicine budget during five months of his posting so far. The purchased items have not much to do with the treatment of patients.

It is learnt that the purchases were mostly made through local companies, which were not even registered by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). “The payments were made before receiving their full supplies,” it was alleged in the complaint.

When contacted, Special Secretary Health Dr Ajmal Bhatti confirmed that the department has received the complaint regarding misuse of hospital funds. “The department has sought comments from the MS of the hospital within seven days for onward submission to the Secretary SHC&ME Department for initiating an inquiry in this regard,” he added.

When contacted, Dr Adnan did not respond to the calls and a message. Sources close to him rejected the allegation as baseless, stating the MS would give his response as sought by the department.