‘Centre reclaiming hospitals is premature, unlawful’

Minister demands withdrawal of notification, reimbursement of expenditure

KARACHI: Taking exception to Centre's recent move to take administrative control of three major hospitals in Karachi, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, in a letter addressed to special assistant to prime minister Dr Zafar Mirza termed the act "premature and unlawful."

Responding to a notification issued by the federal national health services ministry on June 13, whereby Centre reclaimed Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), the health minister stated that the notification "seems not to have been written in good faith," and requested that it be withdrawn.

Also, referring to a Supreme Court order dated January 17, 2019, she underlined that the apex court had made the transfer of the hospitals, as well as that of the National Museum of Pakistan, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions pertaining to financial and budgetary matters, disbursements, outlays and expenditures. Until the fulfilment of these conditions, the status of the facilities is to remain unchanged as per the court order, she maintained.

She further drew attention to the court directive for the federal government to reimburse the Sindh government for "all disbursements, financial outlays and expenditures incurred" on account of JPMC, NICVD and NICH, from June 29, 2011 till the date of return of the hospitals to the Centre.

Pointing out that the Sindh government continued to manage the hospitals "in the best interest of patients" as the federal government had not fulfilled the conditions entailing the transfer of the hospitals, she wrote that the provincial government had invested billions of rupees in upgrading the facilities, where people from across the country receive free medical treatment.

On these ground, the provincial health minister demanded that if the Centre moved to take over the hospitals, it must reimburse the Sindh government for its expenditure on the hospitals and provide assurances that facilities' expansion would continue.

Pechuho further observed that while the Sindh government had allocated Rs16.2 billion in the forthcoming budget for the hospitals, the Centre, also laying its claim on the facilities, had set aside Rs9.9 billion for them.

"This is not only less than our allocation but also less than the amounts spent on these hospitals during the last fiscal year. The absence of appropriate financial allocation will have very serious ramifications on the smooth functioning of these hospitals," the health minister cautioned.

Besides, Pechuho also alluded to a federal cabinet decision dated July 2, 2019, wherein the Centre had decided to hand the facilities back to the province. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2020.