KARACHI, Aug 23: The Civil Hospital’s Board of Governors has constituted a committee to look into the allegations of substandard maintenance and repair works having been carried out on the hospital’s premises.

It was officially announced on Thursday that the board’s meeting on Wednesday took up the issue. The meeting was informed about the alleged irresponsible attitude of the government’s works and services department with regard to the maintenance and repair works, both in the priority and ADP sectors.

The officials concerned claimed that the W&S department would resort to either delaying an assigned job unnecessarily or maintaining low standards in much of the works.

A senior official at the meeting stated that the meeting also noted with concern that the works department was being favoured with extraordinarily big payments without any assessment, evaluation or confirmation by the hospital’s management.

The meeting particularly expressed concern over the pace and quality of works pertaining to the casualty section, kitchen and road-building and renovation works, and decided that the high-ups of the W&S department would be approached for remedial measures.

The board, through a press release, announced that the committee set up to look into the allegations would be headed by Abdul Sami Khan, a BoG member. The committee would conduct a thorough scrutiny of the works carried out by the deputed team of the W&S department. It would also set priorities with regard to the repairs according to the CHK’s requirements.

The BoG meeting was presided over by its chairman, Abu Shamim M. Arif, and attended by Vice-chancellor of the Dow University of Health Sciences Prof Masood Hameed Khan, Additional Health Secretary, Medical Superintendent of the CHK Dr Kaleem Butt and other officials.

The meeting decided that the CHK’s ophthalmology and neurosurgery departments would shortly be shifted to the Sindh Services Hospital to facilitate construction of an accident and emergency centre and ancillary services complex.