LAHORE, Oct 27: The Punjab Accountant-General and the health department have redressed the grievances of complainants regarding payment of medical bills on the orders of provincial ombudsman Justice Sajjad Ahmad Sipra (retired).

Chief Minister Inspection Team’s former member Abdul Sattar Khan said that he spent Rs48,160 on the medical treatment of her mother at the Shaikh Zayed Hospital. He said the CMIT chairman and the finance department had sanctioned the amount because his mother was referred to the SZH by the medical superintendent of the Jinnah Hospital.

However, the Punjab Accountant-General had refused to pass the bill for want of non-availability certificate to be passed by the SZH medical superintendent. He claimed that the non-availability certificate was not required to be provided to the AG as the treatment was got from a private hospital.

Senior schoolteacher Rizwana Amin said that her son remained admitted in the Nishtar Hospital of Multan for a few months in 2000 and died.

She said that an amount of Rs62,807 was spent on his treatment and a reimbursement claim was submitted with the education department.

She said the education department had sent the case to the Nishtar Hospital medical superintendent which was pending with it. She approached the authorities concerned in this regard but to no avail.

Taking notice of the complaints, the ombudsman called for reports from the AG and the health department official concerned. After going through the cases, they reported that the grievances of the complainants had been redressed.

Similarly, the district account officer of Bahawalnagar has made payment of Rs8,940 medical bill amounting to Muhammad Farooq on the ombudsman’s orders.