President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday directed the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) to issue instructions to Shifa International Hospital Islamabad (SHIFA) to refund an amount of Rs 2.9 million to the daughter of a patient who died due to the medical negligence, professional misconduct, and malpractice of the doctors of the hospital. The president also upheld the imposition of a fine of Rs 900,000 on SHIFA as maladministration and medical negligence had been proven against the hospital, President Secretariat Press Wing said 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 as 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 fine of Rs. 900,000 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 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 namely Dr. Iqtidar Mehmood Dara Vs. 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 is the hallmark of our Constitution i.e., Article 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 fulfil its responsibilities”, he added. The [resident further observed that the main purpose of the establishment of Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority was “…to provide a regulatory framework to ensure provision of quality health care services, by implementing quality standards by the healthcare sector, to residents of the Islamabad Capital Territory”.
