Running out of oxygen: Polyclinic dilly-dallying on payments

Contractor claims hospital admin refuses to acknowledge three-years-old Rs4m loan.

ISLAMABAD: The tussle between the Federal Government Services (Polyclinic) Hospital and a contractor over the supply of oxygen continued on the fourth consecutive day as officials and lower staff involved in the matter failed to appear before a two-member committee investigating the matter on Friday.

The probe body has been constituted by the hospital’s executive director (ED).

According to sources inside the hospital, Polyclinic’s top officials are making all-out efforts to hide their incompetence before the committee by twisting the issue.

“The contractor is asking the hospital to repay the loan worth Rs4 million that was taken three years back, however, the hospital administration claims they pay monthly payments to the contractor and have asked him to present them a copy of the bill,” said a hospital official on the condition of anonymity.

Owing to the no-show by the relevant officials, the committee probing the issue will not be able to submit its report in three days as directed by the ED, said the official.

The contractor, Malik Rehmat, told The Express Tribune that he had received a letter form Dr Fayyaz Sheikh, deputy ED of the hospital, asking him to forward the monthly bill of medical gases provided to the hospital so payments could be made to him.

“I have told the hospital administration several times that it is not a monthly bill but a loan taken on 104 oxygen cylinders three years ago,” he said.

He further said that if the hospital administration fails to clear the dues by Saturday (today) morning he would suspend the supply of oxygen once again till he gets his dues.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2014.