HYDERABAD: Quite a serious financial crisis has gripped Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) for the past couple of months and the vendor is threatening to suspend even oxygen supply to the health facility if its Rs400m dues are not cleared.

Vital equipment and machineries of LUH are also facing serious problems since March while supplies for breakfast and medicines to patients are also affected for want of funds.

The LUH is facing this issue due to non-payment of dues that continued to pile up and currently stand at over Rs1.66bn.

The Sindh health department is aware of the present situation as the matter has been brought to its notice by the new LUH management headed by Dr Ali Akbar Dahri.

In a brief conversation, the MS confirmed that Rs1.66bn revised estimates (REs) are to be released by the finance department via the health department and since they were not released so far, therefore, that had become an outstanding amount payable to vendors in the head of different healthcare services rendered.

No funds to continue providing proper meals to in-house patients; vendor threatens to stop oxygen supply unless Rs400m dues cleared

A senior manager for sales and marketing at the company supplying oxygen to the hospital, Arif Hussain, said: “The LUH owes our dues of Rs400m for the past nine months and since the REs are not released yet. We are dealing with the hospital for over a decade, but never faced such a situation.” He said he had requested time and again to the LUH management to clear the dues, but they were waiting for the RE releases.

According to hospital sources, the vendor supplying oxygen has threatened to discontinue the service if dues are not cleared. “The vendor ensures supply of oxygen because of tender’s condition that service can’t be suspended or discontinued till contract is effective. The tender’s period will be over on June 30, 2025,” said a hospital source.

The LUH management confirmed that the administration was now initiating tender process for FY2025-26. Quarterly releases from the provincial finance department usually start from September whereas tendering process would be finalised by August. “So there are many a slip between the cup and the lip,” said the source.

What is RE?

The hospital sources informed that REs are expenses borne/utilised by the LUH for different services over and above hospital’s budgeted expenditures considering urgent needs. The hospital surrenders budgeted allocations in certain head as well if expenses don’t exceed in that head. “Since hospital services are increasing in terms of turnout of patients like investigations, medicine supplies, therefore, expenses are equally increasing,” said a source familiar with the hospital issues.

He informed that the finance department had allowed Rs1.31bn REs in FY2023-24. “In FY2024-25, request for releasing Rs2.28bn REs was sent. Of them Rs500m were released, leaving behind a huge deficit,” he explained. That’s why the MS repeated the request for Rs1.66bn REs in May which were yet to be allowed after a scrutiny, he added.

Of the Rs500m, paltry amounts of vendors’ dues were adjusted, but a major chunk of dues is still outstanding. The vendors avoided discontinuing supplies during the ongoing fiscal year for fear of being blacklisted.

Breakfast suspended, diet not up to plan

Provision of breakfast for patients remained suspended for the last one week. It was resumed only when the MS learnt about it during his visit to the LUH Jamshoro branch. “The diet plan or menu for patients was not being followed. Only potato curry was supplied for several days because kitchen was not getting supplies of food and other items,” informed an official. Rationing in food was seen due to inadequate supplies.

Answering a question, the MS confirmed that he wasn’t aware that breakfast not being supplied and as soon as he learnt about it, he somehow got resumed the provisions of breakfast. Such pathetic state of affairs has undermined healthcare service delivery for patients.

The MS wrote to the Sindh health secretary on May 13 to ensure releases of ‘Revised Estimates for 2024-25 that stood at Rs1,66,50,73,077 and he referenced to hospital’s March 1, 2025, correspondence in which non provision for additional funds as per requirement was made.

The hospital sources said the LUH administration could not get re-appropriation of funds done from the finance department with the provincial health department and that’s why the hospital was now mired into deep financial crisis.

MRI service dysfunctional

Since March vital equipment and machineries of LUH are facing serious problems due to increasing patients’ burden with requests for MRI and CT scan tests that are almost free of charge. A vendor has taken back a tube provided temporarily for a CT scan machine in the hospital.

“A new tube is to be procured at Rs40m which is not done yet through the same vendor. Since it is not imported, therefore, the tube provided temporarily has been taken away by the vendor,” said the hospital source. Similarly, only one MRI is functioning in the LUH’s radiology department and two others remain closed. Even this MRI is performing tests of lumbar region of the body and not all other required tests. But the MS insisted that the machine was doing all tests a patient required.

One MRI machine in Jamshoro is partially working. The hospital administration faces serious pressure for MRI tests of outdoor patients due to nominal charge of such tests in the hospital. Such tests in the market cost Rs10,000 to Rs15,000. Services of portable x-ray were jeopardised. The vendor that supplies films for x-ray, MRI and CT scan is supplying items, but not the entire stock.

“The department resultantly not providing results to patients. It is provided when the MS asks the department in selective cases,” said an attendant of patient, Nadeem Baig. “I was told that films have finished and technician provided me a photo of the scan of my daughter on my cell phone. I am still waiting for the scan on film,” he informed.

According to another LUH’s vendor, Rehan Khan, his outstanding dues stood at Rs280m for invariably four to six months. He said he provided different services, including repair of machinery, janitorial and others. “We are ourselves facing an ugly situation in the market where we are also facing debts. We borne three months’ salaries of employees, but our dues are not yet cleared. The hospital owes huge expenses,” he said.

He said he was assured by the MS that the dues would be cleared by May, but now June had passed and the situation remained unchanged.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025