Doctors say LRH BoG trampled merit in dean’s selection

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s oldest and largest public sector hospital, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), is again in the headlines these days where the doctor community has accused the Board of Governors (BoG) of trampling merit in the selection of the dean.

The dean position fell vacant in January this year when a foreign-qualified and widely respected physician, Dr Abdul Lateef Khan was forced to resign on his alleged unsatisfactory performance.

Insiders, however, claimed that Dr Abdul Lateef Khan had worked hard in an extremely difficult situation and put the institution on track.

He didn’t know the hypocrisy badly needed to stay in key positions such as dean, medical director and hospital director in the medical teaching institutions (MTIs).

Except for the Saidu Medical College and its teaching hospital in Swat, the government has declared all teaching institutions in the province as part of MTIs or medical teaching institutions, run by the board of governors.

There have always been issues related to the boards as in some places, chairmen of the boards are accused of violating merit to accommodate their own blue-eyed people in key positions.

Presently, dozens of cases of MTIs are pending with the tribunal court and several others are planning to seek the help from the court against decisions of respective boards.

Let’s talk about the burning issue in LRH where the dean position was advertised in January and a number of faculty members applied for the position.

After Dr Abdul Lateef’s removal or resignation, Dr Tahir Bilal, the head of the Radiology Department in the LRH, was assigned to work as acting dean.

Among those who applied for the dean’s position included Dr Mehfooz Hussain and Dr Musa Kaleem. Dr Mehfooz Hussain is an ophthalmologist while Dr Musa Kaleem is a paediatrician. Dr Rehana Hakim was made head of the committee formed for shortlisting suitable applicants for the dean position.

According to insiders of the hospital, Dr Mehfooz Hussain was reportedly on top of the shortlisted candidates for the dean position. Dr Musa Kaleem was among those shortlisted for the dean position.

Interestingly, when the list was shared with the Board of Governors (BoG), headed by Dr Nausherwan Burki, they refused to accept it when they came to know about Dr Mehfooz Hussain and Dr Musa Kaleem among the shortlisted candidates.

And thus the board preferred to re-advertise the dean position. Both had remained suspended for a long time after investigations conducted against them had found them guilty.

Dr Mehfooz Hussain was accused of taking home supplies sent by a non-governmental organisation for the LRH staff during the corona pandemic.

Another allegation against him was his alleged claim on social media at that time, saying how he managed to purchase personal protective equipment (PPEs) for his staff when the hospital was not able to provide them. He went through a thorough investigation by the inquiry committee, constituted by the hospital administration.

The committee found him guilty and recommended disciplinary action against him.

Dr Musa Kaleem was accused of making fake attendance.

The hospital administration claimed to have found him guilty of not physically coming to the hospital for attendance and rather making attendance through a Class-IV employee.

Both the doctors were initially suspended and later terminated from service after the inquiry committees reportedly found them guilty.

They had challenged the termination in the court which after long litigations restored both of them to their positions.

However, the LRH administration refused to comply with the court orders and reinstate them.

They again turned to the court and informed it that the hospital administration had refused to obey the court orders and reinstate them.

It prompted the court which took a serious note of the issue and set a deadline for the LRH administration to reinstate them or face contempt of court proceedings.

In Prof Musa Kaleem’s case, the tribunal had warned of ceasing all funds of the hospital if he was not reinstated in a certain period of time.

An acting Dean Dr Hamid Shehzad later accepted the court verdict and issued restoration orders for Dr Musa Kaleem.

Dr Hamid Shehzad later also accepted the arrival of Dr Mehfooz Hussain in the LRH.

The LRH administration, however, stated that their arrival would be subject to the hospital appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Dr Musa Kaleem retired soon after his restoration.

When reached for his version of the story, about allegations that Dr Mehfooz and Dr Musa Kaleem were on top of the list of shortlisted candidates for the dean position, and that the post was re-advertised as both were not in good books of Dr Burki,

Prof Dr Nausherwan Burki, the chairman of the board of governors of the LRH and architect of so-called health reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said: “a lie. I have been informed that Dr Musa was not shortlisted and Dr Mehfooz was reviewed but did not meet the minimum qualifications.”