PHC stays merger of Maulvi Jee Hospital with LRH

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday stayed merger of a Peshawar hospital for children and women with the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) by the government.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Nisar Hussain Khan and Justice Irshad Qaisar suspended the provincial government’s notification about the merger of Maulvi Ameer Shah Hospital, popularly known as Maulvi Jee Hospital, with the LRH and sought replies from secretary health in the case.
The petition has been filed by senior lawyer Mohammad Ayaz Khan, who is the former secretary general of PHC Bar Association. He said in 2008, the provincial government established Maulvi Ameer Shah Hospital for providing health facilities to women and children of Peshawar and adjacent areas. He stated that a valuable property was acquired and the construction of Maulvi Jee Hospital was completed in 2011 for improving child mortality and maternal health.
The PC-I was approved for gynecology, pediatrics, radiology, pathology and anesthesia departments. He said that the said hospital was a district level Category B hospital.
The petitioner stated that on Jun 2, 2015, the provincial health secretary issued a notification and declared the hospital as a constituent body of the LRH, which was totally against the public interest. He stated that LRH had its own board of directors and status of an autonomous body whereas Maulvi Jee Hospital was an independent institution functioning under the supervision of the provincial government.Additional Advocate General Mujahid Ali sought more time for submission of replies on behalf of secretary health.