Abbasi Shaheed Hospital’s (ASH) 40 telephone connections have been disconnected due to bill’s payment default, it was learnt on Thursday.
A hospital administration official said on condition of that about 40 telephone connections of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s largest teaching hospital, ASH, had been disconnected over non-payment. He said KMC’s finance department was reluctant to pay telephone dues of Rs 2 million to the hospital since last few months due to financial crisis; therefore, the telephones connections had been disconnected.
On the other hand, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has also issued warning to the hospital administration to clear its outstanding dues within few days; otherwise, gas supply to the hospital will be disconnected once again.
The telephone connections of emergency department, head of departments, radiology department and other wards have been disconnected over default in the payment. The KMC finance department had issued a cheque of Rs 0.5 million to the hospital administration to clear dues but it was also bounced. As a result, the concerned department disconnected the telephone connection of the healthcare.
Senior Director Health & Medical at KMC, Dr Salma Kausar, confirmed that ASH’s telephone connections had been disconnected over non-payment. She said connections would be restored within few days.
She said 40 telephone connections were not necessary for the institution and she had directed the hospital administrant to use only four telephone lines in the hospital.
When contacted, a PTCL official said that disconnected numbers of the hospital were being used under National Telecommunication Corporation.