The Hayatabad Medical Complex has run out of medicines after vendors stopped supplies due to the failure of the finance director to release payments, leaving patients to suffer.
In a letter to the dean and CEO of the hospital and Khyber Girls Medical College, Hospital Director Gulzar Ahmad Khan said Director Finance Ikramullah Jan had blocked vendor payments, disrupting the supply of medicines and essential surgical items.
The letter, titled “Blocking the patient care services of the hospital by the finance director through delaying payments,” said the finance director had shown complete disinterest in service and was obstructing patient care by not releasing payments, especially to medicine suppliers.
It said the hospital was relying on old suppliers after former Director Supply Chain Ishaq Khattak was terminated for delays in finalising tenders, but even those suppliers were now withholding supplies because payments were not being made despite completion of all formalities.
The hospital director said he had suspended the finance director because of the situation, as well as his irregular attendance, which he said was damaging hospital operations and endangering critically ill patients.
He added that the Board of Governors later restored the finance director after cancelling the suspension order.
The hospital director urged the dean to take the matter seriously in the interest of patients and ensure smooth functioning of the hospital. He also suggested an emergency Institutional Management Committee meeting to address the crisis.
On August 21, the hospital director had suspended the finance director, who is still under probation, accusing him of habitual late coming, lack of professional discipline and bypassing the proper chain of command by submitting reports directly to the secretary of the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors later declared the suspension unlawful, saying it had been issued without legal authority and without due process. It ordered the finance director to resume charge immediately.
The dispute between the hospital director and the Board of Governors began two months ago, when the director sent letters to the MTI Policy Board and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Anti-Corruption Establishment seeking inquiries into alleged illegal appointments.
He had claimed he was forced by the Board of Governors to resign after objecting to illegal appointments and interference in administrative affairs.
The hospital director was suspended by the board on July 21, 2026, over the controversy, but the Peshawar High Court later set aside that suspension on August 5.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Establishment inquiry is still under way, with HMC providing appointment records to investigators.
Officials said the Board of Governors maintained that all appointments were made in line with the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015.
Despite the legal and administrative disputes, tensions at the hospital continue, with both sides standing firm on their positions.
When contacted, HMC spokesperson Waseem Khattak declined to comment on the matter.
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