Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s biggest health facility, Lady Reading Hospital, has reportedly defaulted, with the hospital’s spokesperson confirming that they are short on funds and are planning to shut down specific operation theaters.
Spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital Mohammad Asim has said that their approved budget is yet to be released while adding that the staff has also not been paid their salaries. He also said that they do not have funds to procure medicines, Dawn reported.
Sad to see the biggest hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has defaulted. The spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital says the hospital cannot pay salaries, the procurement of medicine has stopped and they’re pondering now to shutdown specific operation theatres.
— Iftikhar Firdous (@IftikharFirdous) May 2, 2023
Meanwhile, former Provincial Minister for Finance and Health Taimur Khan Jhagra has denied that the hospital has defaulted and said the caretaker government is yet to release funds for medical teaching institutions (MTIs).
Hospitals don’t default.
The caretaker govt has again fallen in the habit of not releasing MTI budgets. Will release a detailed statement in a while. https://t.co/4avK2qkprw— Taimur Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) May 2, 2023
Pakistan is facing one of its worst economic crises. The price of basic food items has skyrocketed with inflation at a nearly 50-year-high as the government is struggling to keep the economy afloat. The government is yet to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume a $6.5bn loan programme.
