Parliament Probes Management Irregularities at NIRM and Polyclinic Hospital Amid Healthcare Oversight Drive

Healthcare Oversight Tightens as NIRM and Polyclinic Come Under Investigation

Nadeem Tanoli

ISLAMABAD — The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has launched formal investigations into management controversies at two major healthcare institutions in the capital: the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) and Polyclinic Hospital. The move comes amid rising concerns over procedural violations, transparency gaps, and the misuse of public health resources.

Chaired by MNA Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani, the committee convened a high-level meeting that shifted its focus from national medical examination policy to urgent issues within public hospital governance. A key matter involved the contentious reinstatement of a senior official at National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), previously removed on the committee’s recommendation following misconduct allegations.

Committee members expressed strong disapproval over what they described as a reversal of an agreed decision. Discrepancies between accounts provided by the Health Ministry and committee leadership led to confusion, raising questions about whether standard protocols were circumvented. To address the matter impartially, the committee voted to suspend the official’s active duties and formed a sub-committee tasked with submitting a report within 15 days.

Simultaneously, concerns were raised regarding persistent dysfunction in Polyclinic Hospital’s dental department. Lawmakers questioned the hospital’s ability to provide even basic dental care, noting that patients were often given prescriptions but told to purchase necessary items themselves due to a lack of supplies.

Hospital leadership admitted to systemic procurement delays, citing repeated failures in the public tendering process. These setbacks, they explained, had undermined efforts to equip the dental unit fully. In the interim, limited services were being provided through small-scale, locally managed purchases.

Attention then turned to an alarming development: reports that insulin vials marked as government property had been found at a private medical store during a raid in Lahore. Lawmakers demanded accountability, pressing officials to explain how state-funded medicine had entered the commercial market.

Polyclinic officials suggested that the leak stemmed from manipulation of the patient registration system, in which individuals created multiple patient records to obtain free insulin for resale. To counteract the abuse, the hospital stated it had implemented digitized record-keeping and pharmacy management to detect such patterns moving forward.

The committee called for a wider investigation into the handling and distribution of medical inventory in public institutions. The Minister for National Health Services committed to personally overseeing the inquiry, promising corrective action to strengthen procurement transparency and prevent misuse of resources.