Financial crisis: LRH stops surgical procedures

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s oldest and largest public sector hospital, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, has stopped major surgical procedures due to lack of funds, said Prof Dr Zubair Khan, chairman Board of Governors (BoG).

Talking to The News, Prof Dr Zubair Khan said they were facing serious financial difficulties in meeting their routine obligations of providing services to their patients, procuring medicines and surgical equipment.

He said the government and the insurance company had not been able to clear their dues. The hospital, he said as usual had spent its funds on providing services to the patients seeking treatment under the Sehat Sahulat Card or programme.

The BoG chairman said that funds released by the provincial government to the hospital are being spent on routine expenses, including salaries of the staff and utility bills.“It is so difficult to handle the vendors supplying multiple items to the hospital. The funds we are paid are not sufficient to clear all dues,” Dr Zubair Khan complained.

According to him, the government and the insurance company were required to clear Rs900 million of the Lady Reading Hospital. The government, he said, had paid them Rs558 million that went to salaries and utility bills.

“Keeping in mind the present financial crisis, we decided to stop surgical procedures and implants but will continue to provide emergency services round the clock. We will resume our operations as soon as we receive funds,” said Dr Zubair Khan.

The decision will affect hundreds of patients seeking treatment in Sehat Sahulat card. Patients advised surgery under the Sehat card are made to wait for weeks and months in public sector hospitals, where the surgeons usually discourage surgeries, saying the rates were quite low in Sehat Card and then payments are delayed for months.Many patients requiring surgeries are then shifted to private hospitals where the doctors operate them on cash payment.