Senate panel asks Shifa hospital to submit records

Capital lacks laws to regulate bills charged by hospitals

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has sought records patients who sought treatment at the Shifa International Hospital over the past year to determine if the hospital provided free treatment to 50 per cent of patients as claimed.

This was decided during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, which met on Tuesday to discuss issues at various medical colleges and hospitals.

Senator Ateeq Shaikh and Ghous Khan said that a subcommittee on health had thoroughly reviewed matters of Shifa International Hospital (SIH).

They noted that the hospital had been established in the name of charity and had pledged to treat half of the patients seeking treatment there for free. However, not a single patient has been treated free of charge there.

However, SIH representatives had maintained that 50 per cent of patients admitted to the hospital were charged only for medicines.

The committee members sought to verify the hospital’s claims and directed its administration to submit records of patients who had been treated free of charge over the past year.

During Tuesday’s meeting, an argument broke out between Shaikh and SIH Chief Operating Officer (COO) Aziz Jan after the former complained about overbilling at the hospital.

The COO termed allegations levelled by the Senator as baseless and demanded that he take his words back.  The Senator upped the ante and threatened to submit a privilege motion against it.

No check on private hospitals

Meanwhile, Islamabad Capital Territory Deputy Commissioner Mushtaq Ahmad said that there was no law which regulates charges of hospitals in the federal capital.

He added that various hospitals charged 10 per cent of dues for their services via a miscellaneous bill. “There is no law and every hospital has made its own rules and policies and there is no check on them,” Ahmad added.



Health Ministry additional secretary said that some hospitals worked under the ICT while some operated under the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD). “A regulatory authority is being established which will regulate all the hospitals [in the capital],” he said.

Entry Test issues

During Tuesday’s meeting, committee members said that some prospective students keep appearing in entry tests again and again. They recommended that there should be a limit for the number of times students can sit in entry tests.

The committee members recommended that a student should be limited to three appearances in entry tests.

Officials from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council told Senators that they were currently considering a suggestion to deduct five marks on second and third attempts at entry tests.

They explained that there are provincial and federal regulatory authorities who take entry tests for enrollment in medical colleges and that colleges are not allowed to take entry tests of students.

They added that before 2016, colleges did not charge entry test fee while unsuccessful students did not get their fees back.

Senator Shaikh said that Shifa International College had enrolled 100 students but 2,000 prospective students were charged fees for entry tests. He said that despite assurances from Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, and directions from the committee, the college has yet to return fee to unsuccessful students.

Senator Shaikh further said all medical colleges, especially teaching hospitals, should follow the rules and regulations.

The committee directed the PMDC to set a limit for medical students appearing in entry tests and formulate a uniform policy for entry tests in medical colleges.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2017.