KARACHI, Nov 24: An inquiry has been opened into possible wrongdoing at the Civil Hospital Karachi during the tenure of Dr (Capt) Mirza Raza Ali, who relinquished the position of medical superintendent about a month ago.

The inquiry has been launched on the directive of the adviser for health to the chief minister of Sindh.

The adviser, Faisal Malik, told Dawn on Wednesday that the director-general of health, Dr Hadi Bakhsh Jatoi, was heading the inquiry team. The other members of the team were Dr Iqbal Daudpota and Dr Capt Abdul Majid.

Answering a question, Mr Malik said if the official in question was found to be guilty of misappropriation or misrepresentation, strict disciplinary action would be taken. "I assure you, if the said person is indeed involved in wrongdoing, in any way, not only will departmental action be taken but the matter will also be sent to the anti-corruption establishment," he remarked.

"And mind you, the amount misappropriated, if there's any, would also be recovered." He said questions had been raised about financial discipline at the hospital, following several bulk purchases there worth more than Rs2 million under 'mysterious' circumstances.

"This official had authorized emergency purchases of drugs which are normally supposed to be acquired in a routine manner. As a result, eyebrows were raised in the department."

A source in the health department, meanwhile, said the areas in which wrongdoing was suspected included estate account, training account, faculty account and purchase of attendance-recording machines. "In all, there are 10 areas in which investigations are under way."

The source added that inquiries were required in many sections and divisions of the health department. "One of the most important areas in this regard is procurement. Another one is the existence of on-paper doctors and other employees."

The health adviser admitted that the procurement of medicines and equipment needed to be looked into. "Yes, that's true but since taking over as an adviser I have not been able to do much in this area. One reason being, I didn't want to do anything which would upset the cycle of purchases in the procurement wing."

In response to a question, Mr Malik claimed that necessary steps would be taken the moment an appropriate opportunity presented itself. He pointed out that the EDO of Naushero Feroze had been removed from his position not long ago over his involvement in the fraudulent purchase, in bulk, of substandard cough syrup.

The adviser admitted that only about 10 per cent of the Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centres (RHCs) were performing satisfactorily. "This means that a big majority of the small health centres are not being run in an efficient manner."

He did not say what kind of steps he had in mind regarding the presence of ghost workers and ghost healthcare centres. Likewise, he did not say much about the doctors who were working in Karachi or Hyderabad even though they were drawing salaries against postings in the interior of the province.

Mr Malik added that over the years 60-odd medico-legal officers had established their fiefdoms in the major hospitals of the province. "This is one subject on which none of the newspapers have written so far." He was studying the file of medico-legal officers and soon meaningful steps would be taken in this regard as well, claimed the adviser.