UPPER DIR: The bio-metric attendance machine installed at the district headquarters hospital in Dir has developed fault, making it easier for the staff to skip duty or come to the hospital late.

The issue surfaced after some patients and their relatives complained that the doctors at the out-patient department and other employees reached the hospital very late. They alleged that some of the doctors came to the OPDs late and left before the scheduled time.

They said that they wondered as to why the hospital administration and health department did not take action against the truant employees and those doctors, who came late to their duty place.

Dr Imtiaz Ahmad, the medical superintendent of the hospital, when contacted, said that the bio-metric machine went out of order before he took charge of his office. He said that the machine had not been working for more than one and a half years.

He said that he informed the independent monitoring unit of health department several times about the faulty machine. He said that the contract of installation, repair and maintenance of the machine had been awarded to a private organisation. However, he said, that the orgainsation did not make any contact with the hospital administration in that regard.

Dr Imtiaz said that it was difficult for them to check the attendance of more than 300 employees of the hospital properly without the bio-metric machine. He said that he couldn’t check the exact time, the employees put in the manual attendance register. He said that through bio-metric machine, the arrival and departure of employees could be checked easily.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2018