<p><a href="/en/afganistan/kabul" class="glossify-link">KABUL</a> (Pajhwok): Some midwives at the Rahman Mina Hospital (RMH) in Kabul are allegedly fleecing patients, multiple sources claim, with a graft-tainted official being re-appointed head of the facility.</p>
<p>Well-placed sources say problems of the hospital could not be addressed under the leadership of different officials. Patients complain doctors prescribe them unnecessary medicine and ask for needless laboratory tests.</p>
<p>A former head of the hospital acknowledged large-scale corruption haunted the hospital, an issue that prompted him to submit resignation. The public <a href="/en/health" class="glossify-link">health</a> minister, however, rejected the allegations against Dr. Mohammad Kamran Bashari and chief midwife Farida.</p>
<p>Bashari was appointed as head of the RMH at time when audio records and other documents proved his involvement in corruption. Kabul’s Public Health director said he had to implement ministerial orders regarding Bashri’s appointment as head of the hospital.</p>
<p><strong>Corruption complaints</strong></p>
<p>The Rahman Mena Hospital is a state-run facility that is supposed to provide free health services to the people. Although three heads of the hospitals have been replaced in less than three years, but problems could not be resolved and people continued complaining of corruption and poor services.</p>
<p>Different sources say Dr. Faqir Mohammad Faqiri served as RMH director for seven years. He claims he had to resign due to growing corruption at the hospital.</p>
<p>The public health minister appointed Dr. Kamran Bashari as acting head of RMH after the resignation of Faqiri. Bashari remained head of RMH until June, 2016. After his resignation, Dr. Syed Jan Hassan was appointed to the slot in compliance with an appointment letter No. 143201.</p>
<p>A formal letter from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said following complaints from the local residents, Dr. Bashari had been replaced by Dr. Syed Jan Hassan to provide locals with health services in a more efficient manner.</p>
<p>But Dr. Bashari said via a fresh letter issued last month he was re-appointed as head of RMH. Some residents, through a formal letter, asked MoPH to reverse the appointment of Dr. Bashari, who was earlier involved in immoral and illegal activities.</p>
<p>Malik Abdul Ahmad, a resident of locality who signed the above letter, charged midwives at RMH took 1,000 to 1,500 afghanis from each pregnant woman.</p>
<p>Noor Hassan, another resident of the area, also criticised the appointment of Bashari. “We complained against his appointment for the second time because in the past he wanted to enter the labour room and observe childbirth. We won’t tolerate this again.”</p>
<p>Without providing proofs in support of their claims, both inhabitants said Haji Rahmatullah, a local representative who worked at RMH as a pharmacist, had shared the outrageous details with them.</p>
<p>According to Hassan, residents of the locality and patients visiting the hospital complained of brazen corruption and accused midwives of taking bribes from visitors.</p>
<p>“Another insulting act of Bashri was that he wanted to go to the labour room, ostensibly to see how baby is born. Being a pharmacist and local representative, I confronted him often and told him not to enter the room,” said Rahmatullah.</p>
<p>He added the audio record of the chief midwife speaking to Bashari regarding the money collected from patients was available. The clip was recorded when Bashari was head of the hospital.</p>
<p>In the audio clip, the chief midwife discusses the money question with Bashari and says one midwife created problems. The man, who is said to be Bashari, tells the woman: “Believe me I will make her cry and bring her to her knees.”</p>
<p>Different midwives discuss the cash collected from patients and involvement of Bashari in the illegal action. Under the criminal law, a government servant is not allowed to take cash or seek any other advantages from applicants. If he/she does so, the will be considered as bribe.</p>
<p>But one of the midwives, who wished to go unnamed, said Bashari no longer asked them directly for bribes. Another midwife named Farida, however, has allegedly told her colleagues to give her 5,000 monthly. “I don’t know whether the money is pocketed by her or paid it to Bashari,” she remarked.</p>
<p>She insisted midwives never demanded of patients to pay them bribes. “It is a matter of choice. If they willingly give us money, then we don’t reject the offer,” she added.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Farida rejected the allegations and said: “All midwives have joined hands to bring me a bad name by making this fake audio clip. As part of this sinister conspiracy, they told the ministry that Farid is receiving bribes from patients.”</p>
<p>She said an investigating team visited the hospital check all record but found nothing against her. She claimed following her appointment, delivery cases at the hospital had jumped from 180 to 361. But she never forced any patient to give her money.</p>
<p><strong>Denial of the allegations</strong></p>
<p>Both Bashari and Farida reject the clip as bogus. Bashari told Pajhwok: “When MoPH tasked me with bringing about reforms, there was a generally careless behavior at the hospital. No one was particular about attendance.</p>
<p>“The duty system wasn’t proper, as patients were asked for money and even referred to doctors’ private clinics around the hospital for needless X-rays and CT-scans. Patients are prescribed overdose.</p>
<p>“After I assumed charge, I started taking corrective measures. But, unfortunately, the individuals whose benefits were threatened began hatching conspiracies against me and made the clip.</p>
<p>“They have faked the clip to denigrate me; there are hundreds of such fabricated clips. They aren’t real. We have never asked midwives for money. When I myself am trying to prevent violations of rules, how can I take money from midwives?”</p>
<p>About his visits to the labour room, Bashari said he did not need to go there, but being in charge of the hospital, he supervised the maternity ward and kept an eye on staff.</p>
<p>Bashari recalled he served earlier as acting director. Now he has been appointed as hospital head to bring about reforms. He claims making efforts to combat corruption at the hospital and such accusations could not impede his struggle.</p>
<p>Farida, who came to Pajhwok’s office to defend herself, also questions the clip’s accuracy. “The voice clip is fake; it is a whacking lie. Actually, the clip has been made by a group of individuals at the hospital.</p>
<p>“With Bashari taking charge, their illegal benefits came under threat. These people have now swung into action imaging and scanning and medical centres outside the hospital. They wrote unwanted prescriptions to 22 to 30 patients, while referring them to unneeded imaging examinations.”</p>
<p>She went on to say: “I don’t have any problem, Bashari is a principled and correct person, he worked for one and a half months, but some elements blackened his name on different titles. I don’t even properly know Bashari, as I am from Kabul and he is from Jalalabad. If they show the voice clip to MoPh or any other place, I don’t care, I am innocent. I provide service to people and my aim is service.</p>
<p>She said patients had never been asked for money at RMH, but if someone gave midwives money on the name of sweet with their own will, then they didn’t refuse.</p>
<p><strong>Controversial remarks by officials</strong></p>
<p>Dr. Yama Noori, Kabul Public Health director, about the people’s complaints against Kamran Bashari and the mentioned clip said: “I have been in the loop, and it’s not from my side, it is the order from the authorities. I am obliged to carry out legal procedures after receiving two forms of appointment from the minister.”</p>
<p>He about some rumours that Bashari used to be involved in corruption said: “I told him that previous record of yours is not with me, I want work from you now but with the arrival of two appointments letter from minister, it is now out of my authority.”</p>
<p>He said he was currently seriously monitoring the work by Kamran Bashari and if any violation committed by him was noticed, he would use his authority and would dismiss Bashari.</p>
<p>However, Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz about the Bashari’s hand in corruption said: “After receiving call from Pajhwok to MoPh about the issue, I directed the concerned sectors to investigate the incident closely, and the results of the probe showed that Bashari had no hand in corruption at the hospital.”</p>
<p>He about the voice clip said: “Accusing someone is very easy, someone who is principled and have a good performance, some circles immediately try to accuse and stamp him as corrupt. In <a href="/en/afghanistan" class="glossify-link">Afghanistan</a> such acts are very much, so we must be careful.”</p>
<p>“Every day, we receive complaints with regard to corruption, they have now reached up to many hundreds, and we have investigated all of them, many of which were far from real. Hence, we should be careful, if not, its results would not be good.”</p>
<p>History of Corruption</p>
<p>Some officials confirm that corruption existed in this hospital in the past.</p>
<p>Sherin Gul, a care taker in this hospital told Pajhowk, <a href="/en/women" class="glossify-link">women</a> who have been giving birth in this hospital would be taken money from in disguise of gift or treat money.</p>
<p>“I brought my daughter-in-law here ten days ago, who gave birth to a boy. The cleaner and the nurses took 800 afghanis from me, I brought my sister-in-law a month ago who also gave birth and 500 afghanis were taken from me”, she added.</p>
<p>She said, doctors and nurses don’t take money by forces, but they consider this very serious and take money by the name of treat or gift money.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, another woman who brought her one year old child to this hospital said,” this child was born in this hospital; my mother-in-law said that she paid 1000 afghanis as a gift money.”</p>
<p>She denied having information if the money was taken by force or if her mother-in-law paid that money out of her free will.</p>
<p>A shopkeeper in the area, who wanted to go unnamed said,” I have a shop here for 20 years, what I have seen is that money is being taken from the ill people here, especially the birth giving patients. They don’t visit patients by night because they don’t have night shift doctors. They have taken gift or treat money from me when my wife was giving birth in this hospital.”</p>
<p>He added, people were being compelled to pay this treat or gift money.</p>
<p>Dr. Atiqullah Mushfeq, internal diseases specialist in this hospital said, such problems existed in this hospital form the past, but all these problems were prevented when Kamran Bashari was appointed as the supervisor in this hospital.</p>
<p>He added, numerous problems existed for the seven years that he has been working in this hospital, a number of doctors and nurses appointed to this hospital were working in other places and weren’t being present for their night shift duty. The nurses were also taking money from the patients.</p>
<p>He said, Rahmatullah, the Pharmacist, has a drug store in front of the hospital and some of the doctors especially the Obstetric Gynecology Unit, prescribed extra medicine to the patients so they should buy them from the drug store outside the hospital.</p>
<p>He also claims that Dr. Plawasha, one of the doctors in this hospital has an Ultra-sound Clinic near the hospital, and tells most of the patients to undergo the ultra sound check so they would be checked in her own clinic. According Dr. Mushfeq, the Ultra-sound machine was inactive in this hospital for ten years so the patients would go to her private clinic.</p>
<p>“Head of this Hospital, Dr. Faqeer Ahmad Faqeer, didn’t pay attention to this irresponsibility, but the personnel in the hospital complained and Dr. Faqeer had to resign after a while and Kamran Bashari was appointed as the Head of this hospital. He brought many reforms in this hospital. He kept a close look to the attendance of the doctors. There were some doctors whose benefits were being endangered by Kamran Bashari, so they made a fake audio tape against him and complained against Kamran Bashari to the ministry of Public Health”, added Dr. Atiqullah Mushfeq.</p>
<p>Dr. Faqeer Mohammad Faqeer says that he has been assigned as the head of this hospital since 2008 <a href="/en/solar-year" class="glossify-link">solar year</a>.</p>
<p>Without providing more details, he said,” some doctors and nurses were irresponsible when I was the head of the hospital, patients were being asked for treat or gift money, inappropriate prescriptions were being written, patients were being referred to their private laboratories. This situation was making me very sad and I wanted to bring reforms to this hospital and made the ministry aware of this situation, but no action was taken by them. When you are eager to bring reforms and improvement but you have no back up , then it is very difficult task to perform, that is why I wrote my resignation letter and cornered myself from these miseries.”</p>
<p>Denying Dr. Mushfeq, he added, Ultra-sound machine didn’t even existed in this hospital in the first six years and then one machine was donated to this hospital in the last year of his service and a professional doctor was also appointed for it.</p>
<p>“Dr. Mushfeq used to ask the patients for Endoscopy, and the patients would be happy to have a free endoscopy test, but later, he prescribed extra medicine to them and referred them to his private drug store. He wasn’t specifying the main sickness of the patients and would tell them that they would become healthy if they take this medicine”, Dr. Faqeer told.</p>
<p>But on the other hand, Dr. Atiqullah Mushfeq denied performing unreasonable endoscopy checks, saying that he was only telling the patients to take the test only when needed and that he had his specialty in this ground.</p>
<p>When asked about prescribing extra medicine, he said,” I have never prescribed extra medicine and I have no relation to any private drug store. They are all lies.”</p>
<p>Dr. Palwasha didn’t want to talk with us. Haji Rahmatullah confirmed having a drug store in front of the hospital and he said that it is his right to have a drug store, but denied the speculations about having relations with doctors inside the hospital or that the doctors were referring the patients to his drug store.</p>
<p>Pajhwok tried to ask the ministry of Public Health about the existence of corruption and the irresponsibility of the ministry regarding this hospital, but the ministry wasn’t ready to comply.</p>
<p>nh/sns/SMEA</p>
