Inspection team uncovers corruption, bribery and expired drugs at BBH

RAWALPINDI: A Special Monitoring Unit has detected financial corruption, governance failure, mismanagement, unhygienic facilities, and pharmaceutical influence at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Rawalpindi.

The inspection report, submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has urged urgent intervention to restore services, enforce discipline, and align hospital operations with her health reform agenda.

According to the report, a copy exclusively available with HUM News English, corruption, poor hygiene, absence of doctors and administrative negligence was found during the inspection.

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During the inspection, the report said, many doctors were found absent from duty, while health delivery and basic facilities were in extremely poor condition.

“ICU patients were left unattended on blood-stained beds without doctors or nurses, and paramedical staff were frequently absent from duty,” the report said.

The report highlighted that pharmaceutical companies had strong influence inside the hospital.

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“Doctors and nurses were seen busy on mobile phones during duty hours, while staff were caught taking bribes to let patients skip queues. Complaints also surfaced of staff charging patients hundreds of thousands of rupees for surgeries. Despite heavy rush in the emergency and OPD, only two counters were functioning. Around 80 per cent of medicines were unavailable at the hospital, forcing patients to buy them from outside,” the report said.

It said that toilets were found filthy and unusable and the sanitation system had collapsed, while water filtration plants were out of order, leaving drinking water unsafe for patients and their attendants.

According to the report, the OPD building had exposed wiring and leaking water while the hospital also carried financial liabilities of Rs440 million.

During the visit, doctors and nurses were found absent from the surgical ICU, orthopedic OPD, and ICU. Dozens of pharmaceutical company cards and brochures were found on the in-charge medical officer’s desk, while a pharma company calendar was displayed in the MS’s office. Company representatives were seen roaming the gynecology ward during duty hours, the report said.

The inspection team also witnessed doctors and paramedics verbally abusing patients.

When doctors were told not to use mobile phones during duty, the hospital’s deputy medical superintendent (DMS) threatened to have a member of the inspection team arrested.

Hospital staff were caught issuing tokens in exchange for bribes and charging patients for treatment, the report said.

One patient was asked to pay Rs90,000 to undergo surgery without waiting in queue. No biometric attendance system is installed in the hospital while most CCTV cameras were found non-functional.

“The hospital lacked a waiting area for attendants. Parking was officially set at Rs30 but citizens were being charged Rs50. At the canteen, a roti was sold for Rs20 and a small water bottle for Rs60,” the report said.

The report added that 80 per cent of patients were forced to buy medicines from outside as government-supplied drugs were missing from the hospital pharmacy.

Expired medicines were found in cartons at the pharmacy, while rotten vegetables and filthy utensils were spotted at the canteen, pointing to poor hygiene.