KP govt orders special audit of hospitals outsourced by PTI

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has asked the provincial director-general (audit) to conduct a special audit of 19 hospitals outsourced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government under the public-private partnership (PPP).

The adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on health has sent a letter to the KP director-general (audit) to carry out a special audit of the outsourced hospitals after a three-member inquiry report found alleged irregularities and misappropriations in these outsourced hospitals managed by Health Foundation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The special audit of these hospitals was ordered on the basis of the three-member inquiry directed by the chief secretary, and after the initiation of a probe by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The KP chief minister’s adviser on health has sent a letter to the director-general audit, mentioning that the health department had forwarded the inquiry report of the outsourced hospitals to the office of the director-general on September 21.

The letter said that the inquiry report was later approved in a meeting of the provincial cabinet, and a supervisory committee of the cabinet has also been established to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the inquiry report.

In the letter, the adviser to the chief minister has requested the director-general audit to take immediate measures to initiate a special audit of the outsourced hospitals.

In December 2022, the KP chief secretary constituted a three-member committee headed by the law secretary to conduct an inquiry into the outsourced hospitals in tribal areas, Chitral, and Kohistan.

According to sources, the inquiry report found alleged irregularities in these outsourced hospitals, which also led to the initiation of a probe by NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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The inquiry committee later identified various irregularities in these outsourced hospitals and recommended shifting the oversight of the outsourced hospitals at the district level from the district health officers to the deputy commissioners.

It had also suggested that director-general health should monitor the affairs of these outsourced hospitals.

According to sources, after receiving complaints about irregularities in these outsourced hospitals, NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa started a probe in August.

NAB sent a letter to the health secretary, seeking to provide details regarding policies, PC-1, funds, expenditures, tenders and monitoring reports concerning the outsourced hospitals.

Following the inquiry report and NAB’s intervention, the provincial government has taken urgent measures to initiate a special audit of the outsourced hospitals.

Health Foundation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Managing Director Dr Adnan Taj told HUM News English that the caretaker government has halted the process of outsourcing an additional 58 hospitals in the province, which was approved by the PTI government in its final days.

He said that the recommendations of the inquiry committee were being implemented.

He stated that they have shared all documents and information regarding the outsourced hospitals with NAB.

He said that they were also in touch with the director-general audit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to initiate the special audit of the outsourced hospitals.

The inquiry report found various issues in the governance, infrastructure, and financing aspects of these outsourced hospitals, such as lack of transparency, accountability, and monitoring; poor quality of services and equipment; and misuse of funds and resources.

The report suggested some corrective measures, such as shifting the oversight of the outsourced hospitals from the district health officers to the deputy commissioners; enhancing the role of director-general health in supervising and evaluating the outsourced hospitals; and conducting a special audit of the outsourced hospitals by the director-general audit.

The Health Foundation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has claimed that it has shared all documents and information with NAB and is cooperating with the director-general audit.