Suggestions sought to make IHRA functional

IHC sets month-long deadline to provide suggestions

A high court has sought suggestions on reviving and making the Islamabad Health Care Regulatory Authority (IHRA) functional within a month.

This was suggested on Thursday by a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, as it heard a petition filed by a citizen, Sajjad Malik, against the administration of a hospital and the dysfunctional health regulatory authority of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) after his mother died during treatment due to the alleged negligence of medical staff.

During Thursday’s hearing, the chief executive officer of the authority, Ali Naqvi, appeared before the court.

He said that all suggestions proposed to make the authority functional were ignored and nothing has been done so far.

Naqvi further lamented that such was the state of affairs that he had not been paid since June, nor were any steps taken to make IHRA functional again.

The court remarked that the case was one of public interest and will help in reviving the health regulatory authority of Islamabad.

Owners of various hospitals in Islamabad have been alarmed by this case, Justice Aurangzeb added.

Meanwhile, the petitioner's lawyer, Omar Gillani, said that there are good and professional doctors and hospitals in Islamabad but they are stigmatized by the presence of a few black sheep.