- Taimur Saleem Jhagra is the minister for finance and has been given the additional charge of the health portfolio
- There has been a growing demand for the resignation of Taimur Saleem Jhagra after the Khyber Teaching Hospital incident
- Last week, five patients in the isolation ward and one in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital had died when its oxygen supply was disrupted
PESHAWAR: Following the recent spate of deaths at Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) due to a shortage of oxygen cylinders, the PTI government is under pressure to appoint a full-time health minister.
According to a news report, there has been an increasing demand for the resignation of Taimur Saleem Jhagra, who has the health portfolio.
Jhagra was the provincial minister for finance when he was given the additional charge of the health ministry after the sacking of Shahram Khan Tarakai – the former minister of health – along with Mohammad Atif Khan and Shakil Ahmad from the KP cabinet in January 2020 on disciplinary grounds.
Despite the passage of 11 months, however, the provincial government has been unable to appoint a dedicated minister.
Jhagra has continued to manage the two portfolios, both full-time jobs with a heavy workload. This stop-gap arrangement would have likely continued if the tragedy at the KTH hadn’t happened.
Last week, five patients in the isolation ward and one in the intensive care unit (ICU) died when the hospital’s oxygen supply was disrupted. When the incident occurred, there were at least 90 patients in the isolation ward in total.
The hospital administration had initiated an inquiry into the shortage of oxygen as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government sought a report within 48 hours. KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said the government would hold an independent investigation if the hospital fails to furnish the report.
The unfortunate incident is still under investigation as another committee has now been formed to probe it and tough action would have to be taken to satisfy the victims’ families.
Questions raised on govt’s MIT reforms
In the aftermath of the incident, the government’s health reforms under MTI are also being questioned as the incumbent government has been claiming that the working of the public hospitals has improved under the new system.
It is true that the Board of Governors under the MTI are responsible for managing the affairs of KTH and other public hospitals and this line of reasoning was given by Jhagra when he asked the KTH’s BoG to investigate the incident.
However, the overall responsibility of running the health department, implementing the MTI reforms, and improving patient-care rest with the provincial government, and the people will be looking to it to provide answers to the many questions that arose after the KTH tragedy.
In fact, the preliminary inquiry report about the incident revealed how badly the hospital was being run. Failure to renew the oxygen supply agreement in writing and extending the contract to the Rawalpindi-based company verbally, staff hired to manage oxygen supply lacking skills, those on duty being absent, etc are glaring omissions, and those found guilty need to be punished under relevant laws.