ISLAMABAD – President Dr Arif Alvi has directed the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) to recover Rs2.9 million from Shifa International Hospital Islamabad (SHIFA) and refund it 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 fine of Rs900,000 on SHIFA as maladministration and medical negligence had been proven against the hospital.
He issued the 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 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.
The complaint, named Farrukh Naeem Tahir, had alleged that her mother was diagnosed with COVID-19 who died due to the negligence of the doctors of SHIFA and she lodged a complaint before IHRA against the hospital and IHRA imposed a fine of Rs900,000 on the hospital for committing negligence but did not ask the hospital to refund the medical bill amounting to Rs2.979 million as per order of the Wafaqi Mohtasib.
Thereafter, she filed a review application and requested to re-open the case and re-visit its earlier decision with the direction to IHRA to issue instructions to the hospital to refund the medical bill. The Mohtasib issued the orders in her favour, which were impugned by IHRA by filing a representation with the President. The president rejected IHRA’s representation and ordered the refund to be paid within a week to the complainant.
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