LAHORE: The Jinnah Model Pharmacy (JMP) vendor of Jinnah Hospital may close down the pharmacy due to Rs140 million in outstanding payments. The hospital, however, has accused the vendor of overbilling under various heads, including medicines, medical devices, and other items.

The vendor has suspended the supply of medicines and equipment to critical patients. The delayed payment issue has persisted for over a year.

Earlier, two top officials of Mayo Hospital were removed during Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s visit two weeks ago due to a medicine shortage related issue.

Jinnah Hospital is the second-largest public tertiary care teaching institute in the metropolitan city.

Vendor says Rs140 million outstanding, hospital accuses him of overbilling

An official privy to the development said the functionality of the JMP has almost come to a standstill due to pending payments.

Regarding the background, he said the hospital’s purchase section failed to float bulk purchase tenders for the financial year 2023-2024 on time, leading to the cancellation of most medicine procurement tenders.

To maintain hospital operations, the administration relied on medicine loans from the hospital-based JMP.

The official said cases related to the Sehat Sahulat Programme (SSP) were entirely catered for by the JMP, bringing the outstanding amount to Rs140 million.

The vendors have made multiple representations to the health department and the medical superintendent of Jinnah Hospital over the past six months for payment settlement but to no avail.

They also wrote to Punjab Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood, but despite numerous reminders and follow-ups over the past year, the payments have not been processed.

“We provided cardiac devices, medicines, and other necessary items to the hospital for emergency treatment of needy patients, and the agreed payment terms have long passed since,” reads the complaint.

Despite frequent requests, the hospital promised to clear the dues, but nothing has been done.

“Lastly, the hospital administration claimed it would take up the matter with the Board of Management (BoM),” the letter states.

The vendors claimed that although the hospital management had received funds, it neither discussed the matter in the BoM meeting nor cleared the outstanding payments.

“This delay is causing significant financial strain on our operations, and we kindly request your intervention to expedite the settlement of the overdue amount,” the letter reads.

The vendors said the issue of pending payments led to the transfer of the hospital’s former finance director last year, but even his replacement, Haseeb Ahmad, has failed to resolve the matter.

An official stressed the need to increase Jinnah Hospital Lahore’s pharma budget in light of the rising medicine prices and the imposition of sales tax in the 2024-2025 budget.

Mr Ahmad said the issue of pending liabilities is too complicated to resolve.

“We are still struggling to assess who was managing the financial affairs of the JMP,” he said.

Regarding the clearance of outstanding vendor payments, he said the hospital management had detected instances of overbilling under various heads, including medicines, medical devices and other items.

This issue has been discussed multiple times in official meetings, but no conclusion has been reached.

Allama Iqbal Medical College (AIMC) Principal Prof Dr Asghar Naqi also shared similar concerns, stating that the JMP was established on the hospital premises as a private entity about 15 years ago.

In 2014-15, the health department directed teaching hospitals to officially establish model pharmacies within their institutions. However, it remains unclear whether the JMP operates as an official or private facility.

He clarified that Jinnah Hospital’s management is not directly responsible for the pharmacy’s pending payments.

Regarding past practices, Mr Naqi said SSP payments were previously used to clear the JMP’s outstanding dues.

“We are still trying to resolve the issue to ensure an uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical devices for patients,” the AIMC principal said.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025