LAHORE, March 21: Sir Ganga Ram Hospital should be subjected to thorough scrutiny as it has been plagued by deep-rooted financial problems, observes the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team.

The CMIT has found irregularities while disposing of an inquiry against GRH assistant Mushtaq Ahmad Qureshi whom it declared guilty of fiddling the books.

According to the report obtained by Dawn, the CMIT has noted that a “comprehensive audit” of the hospital accounts as well as those of the Fatima Jinnah Medical College should be ordered through the auditor general of Pakistan.

“Any discrepancies need to be firmly handled so that it has a deterring effect on the other medical institutions which have over the years expanded to unmanageable dimensions. The indifferent and defiant attitude exhibited by the hospital towards the orders and instructions of the health department needs to be taken a due note of and each such incident needs to be thoroughly probed to ensure that all should remain within the ambit of professional discipline and institutional decorum,” read the report.

It said when the requisite audit of the accounts was conducted, a regular director finance from the Pakistan Audit and Account Service, preferably the incumbent, should be posted at the institution so that the contractual or officiating employees were not influenced by the administration. Only this could ensure that there were no impediments to meaningful audit.

It also observed that the treatment meted out to the previous three directors finance indicated that there was “a lot to hide”.

Regarding the case of Mr Qureshi, the CMIT observed that despite his untoward activities he was accorded a very privileged status. “Instead of instituting a fresh regular inquiry against him, the probe already ordered by the health department against him should be finalised by the GRH medical superintendent.”

A source in the health department said the inquiry by the health department had already recommended termination of the accused, but he had been placed under suspension. He said a three-member Punjab Assembly committee, headed by Law Minister Basharat Raja, had recently been constituted to implement the CMIT’s recommendations but it had yet to make any progress in this respect.

The CMIT, which completed the probe a few months ago, had also submitted the report to the health department and the hospital’s board of management. The source said neither the health department nor the board had bothered to look into the financial affairs of the hospital and the college so far.

GRH chief executive Prof Akbar Chaudhry (who is also the FJMC principal) told Dawn that the AGP had recently completed the audit of the hospital on the recommendations of the CMIT.