Medical Superintendent Dr. Faisal Masood had resigned for not releasing Rs 3.5 billion to the hospital despite repeated requests, The medical community strongly reacted to the Chief Minister’s disrespect of senior teacher
Medical Reporter Daily Dawn + Dawn TV Report
Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s controversial statement about Medical Superintendent Prof. Dr. Faisal Masood during her recent visit to Mayo Hospital Lahore over complaints of medicine shortage by patients has sparked a new controversy when it emerged that MS had already resigned due to the institution’s Rs 3.5 billion arrears, while the Health Minister and Secretary were allegedly well aware of the matter.
The medical community reacted strongly to the Chief Minister’s style and termed the Chief Minister’s move as a blow to the sanctity of the profession. Describing the incident as regrettable, the medical community said that it has exposed the incompetence of the Punjab Health Minister and Secretary, who have misled the government and the public about the financial crisis facing Mayo Hospital for the past two years.
According to Dawn sources, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique made about five visits to the hospital in the past few months and on each visit, the institution’s management informed him about the acute shortage of funds and complaints from patients.
During the same period, Punjab Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood also allegedly accompanied the Health Minister twice and the issue of shortage of funds was put before him. MS expressed concerns that vendors have stopped supplying medicines due to arrears of billions of rupees and the situation is getting worse with each passing month.
An official aware of the matter said that the Mayo Hospital management had given him the funds to release. He said that when repeated requests were not acted upon, Prof. Faisal Masood resigned on February 2, citing personal reasons.
Professor Faisal Masood’s resignation dated February 12 stated that “I respectfully request that due to personal reasons I am unable to continue with the additional charge of Chief Operating Officer and Medical Superintendent of Mayo Hospital Lahore, therefore I should be relieved of this responsibility immediately.”
Talking about the Health Secretary’s wilful negligence, the official said that Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood had written a letter of displeasure to Professor Masood a day before the Chief Minister’s scheduled visit, even though he was aware of the facts that he had resigned from his post four weeks ago.
The official claimed that the purpose of preparing the letter was only to divert the attention of the Punjab Chief Minister and put the entire burden of his department’s negligence on the hospital administration as Azmat Mahmood was aware of the Chief Minister’s expected visit to the hospital the next day.
The letter of disapproval issued by the health department on March 5 said, “I have been directed to express my deep dissatisfaction with the competent authority for the ineffective protocols being followed in the emergency department of Mayo Hospital Lahore.” The statement said that the continuous unavailability of essential medicines is of utmost concern, which has severely affected the ability to provide timely and effective care to critically ill patients.
The official said that a narrative is rapidly growing that the above two letters were presenting the real picture to pin the responsibility on the health secretary and the health minister, who were aware of the actual situation in the hospital.
After the chief minister’s visit to the hospital, the medical community reacted strongly and termed the threats of arrest of senior faculty members as the “final nail in the coffin of the dying health sector.”
Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) official Dr Malik Shahid Shaukat said that the incident is a nightmare for the medical community and a stain on the governance model in the health sector.
Prof. Shaukat said that the insult of medical teachers and the silence of other senior professors before the Chief Minister of Punjab shows that the health profession has reached the worst level.
This action was beyond expectations as the government had released only Rs 20 million against the outstanding amount of Rs 3.5 billion of Mayo Hospital.
Dr. Shaukat said that due to the appointment of favored officers on important posts and the worst kind of privatization in the health sector, the two health departments have reached the brink of collapse.
The Young Consultants Association of Pakistan (YCA) has condemned the Chief Minister of Punjab’s disrespect towards the Medical Superintendent (MS) of Mayo Hospital Lahore.
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