PESHAWAR: Mardan Medical Complex (MMC) has appointed former Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) hospital director Brig (retd) Dr Muhammad Abrar Khan to the same administrative position for a five-year term, despite earlier directives from Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur seeking his removal from LRH following a controversial child treatment case.
Brig (retd) Dr Muhammad Abrar Khan was appointed hospital director of MMC for the next five years on April 30 on the recommendation of the hospital’s Board of Governors (BoG), despite the chief minister’s earlier directives seeking his removal from LRH after a controversial incident involving the alleged denial of treatment to a child.
Officials said the chief minister’s directives were effectively set aside by the LRH Board of Governors following an internal inquiry that cleared the officials concerned.The controversy dates back to December last year, when a video circulated on social media showing a distressed father alleging that his child had been refused admission and treatment at the Paediatric Emergency Department of LRH.
Following public outrage, the chief minister paid a late-night visit to the hospital on December 16 to assess the situation personally.According to an official letter later issued by the Health Department to the LRH Board of Governors, the chief minister found the state of patient care at the province’s largest public-sector hospital “more pathetic than what was reported.”
“The attendant feedback supplemented the evidence of poor patient care,” the letter quoted the chief minister as saying.The letter stated that the chief minister had expressed serious dissatisfaction over the hospital’s overall performance, particularly regarding patient management, cleanliness, staff responsiveness, and implementation of standard operating procedures.
Officials said the chief minister had pointed out that LRH, an 1,800-bed tertiary care hospital receiving nearly Rs8 billion annually from the provincial government, was expected to ensure prompt and efficient medical treatment, particularly in emergency cases involving vulnerable patients, including children.
After the visit, the chief minister directed the immediate termination of the hospital director and suspension of the head of the paediatric emergency department. However, instead of implementing the directives, the chairman of the Board of Governors of LRH initiated an internal inquiry into the matter.
The inquiry committee submitted its report nearly two months later and cleared both officials of wrongdoing, after which the board allowed Dr Abrar Khan to complete his tenure instead of removing him in line with the chief minister’s directions.
Currently, 11 teaching hospitals and their affiliated medical and dental colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa operate under the MTI system through autonomous boards of governors, many of whose members belong to the private sector or are retired officials.
These boards possess wide-ranging administrative and financial authority, including powers to appoint senior management officials, create or abolish posts, redesignate positions, and determine salary structures without requiring approval from the provincial Health Department.
Officials said no external audit of any MTI institution has been conducted since the introduction of the MTI system in 2015. Although the Health Department twice issued directives seeking external audits of MTIs through independent firms, the matter remains pending before the MTI Policy Board.
When contacted, MMC BoG Chairman Dr Arshad Javaid defended the appointment and said the selection process had been conducted strictly on merit.“We selected the hospital director after proper scrutiny, and he was at the top of the list,” he said.Responding to questions about the inquiry conducted against Dr Abrar Khan at LRH, he said nothing had emerged against him that could disqualify him from holding the post.
