ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the Islamabad Health Care Regulatory Authority (IHCRA) to take measures for making the body functional to address the complaints against doctors and sought detailed report from IHCRA’s CEO within one month.

The bench remarked that an active health care body in federal capital was in public interest for betterment of health sector.

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted hearing on a petition seeking to activate the IHCRA to hear the complaints against health practitioners.

During the course of proceeding, the CEO IHCRA Dr. Syed Hussain Ali Naqvi appeared before the bench.

The benched questioned him that how this department could be made functional, how much this institution was important and where was the fault exist.

The court instructed him to submit detailed report to the bench in this regard.

To another query of the bench, Dr. Naqvi said that he had been serving as senior manager health services in Canada before this job and he was appointed under legal process.

He said that he had been hired against a three year contract on this post.

To a question by the court, the CEO said that he was a sole employee of IHCRA so far as the authority had no budget.

There were no other employees due to which the department was non functional, he said.

Syed Hussain Ali Naqvi said that neither he was paid salary since June this year nor efforts were made to make the IHCRA functional despite he had given suggestions in this regard.

The bench remarked that it was in public interest that there must be a health care authority in Islamabad.

The petitioner’s lawyer Umer Gilani said that we have professional doctors and good hospital here but some black sheep had damaged the image of this profession.

A functional health care body would help to improve the performance of hospitals in the country, he said.

The court remarked that let the IHCRA to submit report, if nothing happened then court would summon the secretary ministry of health.

The court adjourned hearing of the case till winter vocations.