LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has approved different penalties/punishments for many senior doctors, including former executive director, admin officers, nurses, pharmacists and other employees of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), Lahore, under the PEEDA Act 2006 in ‘expired cardiac stent scam’.

The action was proposed against them in the light of the findings of a high-profile inquiry launched against total 44 officials and other employees of the public sector hospital.

The inquiry was initiated against (serving and former) executive directors of the PIC, Lahore, professors, assistant professors, registrars, pharmacists, nurses and technicians. The punishments handed down to the guilty employees included removal from service, withholding of increment, forfeiture of past service, withholding of pension etc.

The inquiry officer exonerated those who had been handed down punishments in the earlier investigations.

In the scam surfacing in 2021 expired stents were allegedly placed into arteries of several patients. Later, the matter was taken to the Lahore High Court.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had launched investigations into the scam, arresting several doctors and other staffers of the PIC in the light of the LHC order.

According to the inquiry report, the Punjab government had first appointed the then law and parliamentary affairs secretary Ahmad Raza Sarwar as inquiry officer to dig out facts of the matter and fix responsibility on the guilty doctors and other PIC employees.

However, Mr Sarwar could not complete the inquiry due to his transfer and he had sought appointment of any other officer to conduct the probe.

Later, the Punjab government appointed Muhammad Ahsan Waheed, then secretary/chairman of the Provincial Transport Authority (presently posted as secretary archives & libraries wing) as inquiry officer under Section 1(4) (iii) and Section 3 of the Act ibid vide on Nov 24, 2022.

Mr Waheed completed the inquiry and recommended different penalties for the guilty employees, including some senior doctors, on May 25, 2023.

Then, the Punjab government appointed the then agriculture department secretary retired Lt Iftikhar Ali Sahoo for personal hearing of pleas by the accused officers on June 9, proposing as to why penalties recommended by the inquiry officer may not be imposed upon the accused.

The inquiry report stated the hearing officer gave personal hearing to all the accused and furnished a report on July 18 which was later placed before the Punjab chief minister/the competent authority, for final approval.

According to official documents, the caretaker CM has handed down punishment of withholding of 15 percent pension for a period of two years to ex-executive director (ED) Prof Saqib Shafi Sheikh.

Those exonerated include professor of cardiology and serving ED of the PIC, Prof Ahmad Nauman, professors of cardiology Dr Shahid Hameed, Dr Tahir Naveed, assistant professors Dr Abu Bakar Mirza, Ahmad Masood Akbar, Dr Anjum Rana, Dr Atif Imran, Dr Hamid Khalil, Dr Khurram Shahzad, Dr Masood Ali Akbar, Dr Naveed Ahmad Shahid, Dr Rizwan Ahmad Yaqoob and senior registrar Dr Shahid Iabal.

The CM has approved major penalties of removal from service for two junior technicians -- Sajid Ali and Ijaz Badar.

The punishment of withholding of increment for a period of one year has been approved for charge nurses, including Saba Iqbal, Attia Sadaqat, Hira Akram, Saba Pervaiz, Rabica Ayub, Naveeda Akhtar, Hina Fatima, Sumbal Rehmat, Aseeya Ghafoor, Sobia Yusuf, Mehwish Manzoor, Tayyaba Latif, Zoya Khan, Samya Mansoor, and Fozia Mushtqat.

Similarly, the penalty of withholding of increment for a period of two years was handed down to ex-pharmacist/deputy drug controller Samarana Ijza and the same punishment for a period of three years to assistant professor Dr Imran Abid.

The CM also approved the penalty of recovery of amount equal to three increments from PIC medical superintendent (MS) Dr Mohammad Tehseen.

Those who have been censured by the CM for not maintaining the highest standards of discipline and professional ethics, included professors of cardiology Dr Abdul Wajid Khan, Dr Sajjad Ahmad and assistant professors Dr Aamir Hussain Bandesha, Dr Ammar Rasheed and Dr Imtiaz Ahmad.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2023