RAWALPINDI:
Questions have been raised over administrative discipline and governance at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) after transfer orders affecting several senior doctors were withdrawn just a day after they were issued.
A notification issued on May 18 by the medical superintendent of HFH transferred three senior medical officers (PMOs) of grade 20 – Dr Tanveer Akhtar, Dr Abid Hassan and Dr Irfan Bashir – to the new OPD main building.
Six additional Grade 19 PMOs were also reassigned. Dr Nadeem Malik and Dr Saleem Nawaz have been shifted to the main OPD, while Dr Rana Sattar, Dr Shahida Imtiaz, Dr Sumaira Sattar and Dr Asma Riaz have been posted to the gynecology OPD.
Besides, two senior grade 18 doctors – Dr Haroon Rahim and Dr Raja Qaiser Saeed Khan – have been transferred to the Pediatric OPD and the new main OPD building respectively.
Hospital sources said this was the first time in the history of the institution that such a large number of senior doctors, who held key administrative and medical responsibilities, were transferred to OPD duties through a single order.
However, amid concerns over the expected response and possible administrative difficulties, the hospital administration withdrew the transfer orders on May 19 and reinstated all senior doctors to their previous positions.
The issuance of what was described as an unusual and disproportionate order, followed by its withdrawal the very next day, raised serious questions regarding administrative discipline and governance within the hospital system.
