Hospital ordered to refund Rs2.9m to citizen

President upholds fine imposed by federal ombudsman for doctors’ negligence

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday directed the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) to issue instructions to Shifa International Hospital Islamabad (SHIFA) to refund Rs2.9 million to the daughter of a patient who died due to the medical negligence, professional misconduct, and malpractice of the doctors.

The president also upheld the imposition of a fine of Rs900,000 on SHIFA as medical negligence has been proven against the hospital, said President Secretariat Press Wing in a press release on Saturday.

The president issued these directions while rejecting a representation filed by IHRA against the orders of the Wafaqi Mohtasib (WM) in which the Mohtasib had held that the complainant (deceased patient’s daughter) had been discriminated against in a similar case in the past, IHRA had not only imposed a fine on SHIFA but had also issued the directions to the hospital to refund the amount in lieu of medical bills.

He ordered that the refund should be paid within a week to the complainant. While rejecting IHRA’s representation, the president observed that IHRA had investigated the complaints, found medical negligence, and imposed a fine of Rs900,000 upon SHIFA which had also been received by IHRA, and thus medical negligence had been established upon the healthcare establishment.

He further said that IHRA did not direct the hospital to reimburse the actual amount of medical bill incurred on the treatment of the complainant’s mother as per orders of the learned Wafaqi Mohtasib; whereas in another case ‘Dr Iqtidar Mehmood Dara versus Shifa International Hospital’, Islamabad, IHRA had held that “The medical bill should be refunded to the complainant by SHIFA International Hospital.”

The president held that it was an established principle that similarly placed persons should be treated alike and equal treatment to all was the hallmark of the Constitution i.e. Articles 4 and 25. He said that the object and purpose of the law would be fulfilled only when the complainant was provided relief for any negligence by the hospital. “The agency must have been more vigilant and watchful to fulfill its responsibilities,” he added.

The president further observed that the main purpose of the establishment of the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority was to provide a regulatory framework to ensure the provision of quality healthcare services.

He noted that IHRA was responsible to “exercise any powers and perform any functions as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of its Act on the instruction of the Federal Government”, and since maladministration and negligence had been established and it had not been assailed by SHIFA, therefore, the orders had been rightly passed, and the representation deserved to be rejected.

Mst Farrukh Naeem Tahir (the complainant) had alleged that her mother was diagnosed with COVID-19, who had died due to the negligence of the doctors of SHIFA and she lodged a complaint before IHRA against the hospital and IHRA imposed a fine of Rs900,000 on the hospital for committing negligence but did not ask the hospital to refund the medical bill amounting to Rs2,979,637 as per the order of Wafaqi Mohtasib.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2023.