K-P CM's directives on LRH officials' disciplinary action not enforced

Hospital's Board of Governors forms two inquiry committees, tasked with submitting reports in three days

Orders issued by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi regarding disciplinary action against senior officials of Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar have reportedly not been implemented. Instead, the hospital’s Board of Governors has constituted two separate inquiry committees to examine the matter.

According to official sources, the Board of Governors (BoG) formed the committees to probe allegations against the hospital director and the head of the Paediatric Emergency Department. Both committees have been tasked with submitting their reports within three days, after which a decision regarding further action against the officials will be taken.

This development follows a late-night visit by the chief minister to LRH’s Paediatric Emergency on the night of December 15 and 16, prompted by a video circulating on social media that showed a complaint about the denial of medical treatment to a newborn. During the visit, patients and their attendants reportedly lodged numerous complaints about poor facilities, mismanagement, and staff behavior.

The chief minister also inspected other departments of the hospital and interacted with patients and their families. Expressing serious dissatisfaction with poor cleanliness, disorder, substandard patient care, staff attitude, and violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs), he ordered the removal of the hospital director and the suspension of the head of Paediatric Emergency.

Subsequently, a formal letter conveying these orders was sent to the BoG. The letter expressed grave concern over the situation at LRH, which is the province’s largest tertiary care hospital and receives an annual government grant of around Rs 8 billion. It emphasized that the hospital bears a critical responsibility to provide quality healthcare, particularly to emergency cases and newborns.

The letter also described the poor healthcare standards and weak administrative performance as a serious embarrassment not only for the institution but also for the provincial government, and it sought a compliance report on the implementation of the chief minister’s orders.

However, instead of immediate enforcement of the directives, the BoG decided to initiate inquiries. Sources said that a two-member committee has been constituted to investigate the matter concerning the hospital director, comprising the Director of Finance as chairman and the Director of Human Resources as a member.

A separate three-member committee has been formed to probe the Paediatric Emergency Department, with the Head of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Atta, as chairman, along with Chairperson of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Dr. Shahzadi Salma, and Assistant Professor of Radiology, Dr. Imran Khan, as members. The committee probing the Paediatric Emergency has been tasked with identifying gaps in patient admissions, procedures, patient load management, and treatment provision, and submitting recommendations in its report.

Insiders claim that the removal of the hospital director has been halted by the chairman of the BoG, and efforts are reportedly underway to absolve the director by arguing that he was not directly involved in the situation at the Paediatric Emergency. Sources warn that the divergence between the chief minister’s orders and the BoG’s decision could trigger a new controversy.