Mohmand - Regarding one of your techs...

[MikeTheDane]

First of all, I believe that when a patient experiences an incident when at the doc, these should be brought out in the open so that everyone can see both sides of the story. Such is my conviction, and one of the reasons I believe in this website. Being recommended or in the coalition on this site is both an honour, but also a privilege. I also believe that while a Dr. is not personally responsible for the actions of his techs, he is liable to any consequences they might have.

 

Since my HT with Mohmand on 12th of April, I've been in contact with several people that are either planning on going to Pakistan, or have just been there. One person that was there a few weeks before me told me something that I felt a bit disturbed about.

 

Do you know the names of your technicians? Mine were called Farad, Kiran and Imran. They kept asking for reward money for carrying the hair transplant which really shocked me!

 

After my reply...

 

Yes you are right this is not acceptable but I don't want to rock the boat and cause any trouble so maybe I will leave it for now.

 

By the way Kiran or Imran never asked me for money it was only Farad. She never asked me for money, what she asked for was a reward. She said all of the staff working on my hair transplant should be rewarded because they are putting in a lot of effort and treated me like a VIP. (She mentioned the reward about 6 or 7 times.)

 

Yes I think Farad was the oldest...[Edited]. Apparently she carried out the hair transplant on Imran Khan (Cricket captain that won the World Cup for Pakistan) and he gave her a 'reward' so why couldn't I give her a reward? It would be good if you could ask this question anonymously on the forum, as long as you're sure they won't know it was me that highlighted this. I never really understood her properly at first she asked Kiran to translate in English but Kiran was having none of it and said she didn't want to be a part of what Farad was asking for.

 

I don't want to get her in to trouble but at the end of the day this has an impact on a good Dr's reputation and he should probably be made aware of this. I'm more than happy to pay them a reward if the results are good after 8 to 12 months but I don't want to pay someone extra just for doing their job. Farad did beg me to forget what she said after she realized I wasn't going to pay her. (Needless to say this made me very uncomfortable but I am used to Pakistani's begging for extra money, this happens all over Pakistan.)

 

 

I understand the temptation to lure money out of 'wealthy' tourists, but this isn't acceptable behaviour. I was there a few weeks later and encountered no problem myself, so I'm guessing it's not her(Farad's) standard, still such a thing is completely inappropriate, and could damage the doctors reputation. I have emailed Shahid about it, so let's see what happens..

[Anouar]

This is typical of third world countries. I have witnessed government officals taking money in order to speed up the process of an aplication. If they feel they are going above and beyond, they feel like they should be paid for it. Its away of life for them. They dont have any notion of how industrialized nations operate and trust me the doc knows well his country. He might frown upon if he now his techs were asking for money but i doubt it would surprise him

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mike,

 

If I'm understanding this correctly, you are saying that one or more of Dr. Mohmand's technicians are asking for some sort of tip (monetary or otherwise) from his patients? If so, I don't feel this is appropriate as it can make patients feel like they'll only do a quality job if they get some sort of incentive/reward from the patient.

 

I've emailed Dr. Mohmand with a link to this topic asking him to reply.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mike,

 

To clarify, did you experience this personally or are you sharing someone else's experience? Also, did you and/or this other patient share your concerns with Dr. Mohmand?

 

If this is someone else's experience, unless this person comes forward to discuss this, I'll leave this topic open for a short time for Dr. Mohmand to respond and then lock it. Having a long, drawn out "he said, she said" debate quickly becomes counterproductive.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Maxxy]

The problem here is it's all hearsay. I'm not saying it isn't true but accusations like this really need to be made by the person who was approached.

 

I understand the patient wishes to remain anonymous, however, as names have been given - this woman's job and repuation are/could be at risk. That being the case, I feel the patient should have brought this to the doctors attention and if he felt necessary to the forums attention personally (in my opinion). The tech has the right to know her accuser and be given the opportunity to defend herself.

 

That being said, if it is true I would be horrified to be put in that situation. It also worries me that if the techs are being told certain patients are VIP or wealthy, does this mean they are given them more attention and better care then say poorer patients?

 

Edit: Bill beat me to it, though I 100% agree with both his posts.

[MikeTheDane]

Originally posted by Bill - Managing Publisher:

Mike,

 

To clarify, did you experience this personally or are you sharing someone else's experience? Also, did you and/or this other patient share your concerns with Dr. Mohmand?

 

If this is someone else's experience, unless this person comes forward to discuss this, I'll leave this topic open for a short time for Dr. Mohmand to respond and then lock it. Having a long, drawn out "he said, she said" debate quickly becomes counterproductive.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

Hi Bill

 

It's on behalf of someone else. He wanted anonymity, but I'll try and see if he wants to chime in...

 

I also already emailed Shahid about it, I felt that this would only be fair.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mike,

 

I've been in touch with Dr. Mohmand and he will respond shortly. There is truth to the above statements and Dr. Mohmand has already been made aware of it. He told me that he has already terminated one staff member and is taking the necessary actions against others responsible. I will let him respond with more specifics.

 

I do encourage anyone who has specific information about this to contact Dr. Mohmand privately as he is serious about providing only the highest standard of care and will hold his staff accountable for their actions.

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[MikeTheDane]

Bill

 

Great. Not that they were fired, I feel that this might have been a bit harsh (but this is mohmands decision) but that the truth is out. Transparency is the most important aspect of this community, and kudos to Mohmand for admitting that it happened, to me that's a sign of good character and worthy of my respect.

[Blake Bloxham]

Mike,

Thank you for upholding the high standards of HTN (bringing this issue to the forum's attention), and, as you stated, it's refreshing to see the Dr act in a professional, transparent manner.

[Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohma]

dear friends

 

As presently I am in US for my 4 presentations lectures on hair transplant at the orlando live surgery workshop so I could not properly investigate the issue.

 

I guess the issue arise first about 6 to 7 months back and as far as I know two of my staff were responsible. The one I have terminated earlier had another allegation to her so I just could not afford to have a bad reputation and hence I asked her to leave.

 

I was just wondering if this is the same incident then I have already dealt with that but if its a new one, I will be very strict with the person named. Though i have been advised on a personal mail by mike that the best thing would be to give all the staff a meeting and ask them not to repeat it and I guess that might be right. Though I will at a personal level give a strong and last warning to the person named.

 

Anyway, I thank you all to understand that though I am responsible for the clinic but there are few things that goes behind my back. unless I am not aware of it I cant rectify that.

 

One more thing , unless the person does not come out in open and tell me the problem, then I am afraid I wont be able to take actions. As I am not sure that the person who is complaining is really telling the truth.

One reason, people in pakistan will be more than willing to make me fire my staff as they are the most experience and hence they will be ready to take them in their team.

 

so I have to balance every thing accordingly.

 

Hope my point of view will also be taken in to consideration.

[Forrest Gump]

MiketheDane, thank you for the post. Very informative and extremely useful, and at the same time a very balanced perspective without taking sides or getting opinionated.

 

This is a very serious issue and I am glad some actions are taken to rectify the situation.

 

There might also be a cultural angle to it. As was pointed out in Dane's opening post, anywhere you go in Pakistan, everyone would be begging for extra money from you, especially if you are a western tourist. I have been to Pakistan only once, on a business trip, and sometimes it is really uncomfortable when people stretch out their hands and beg for extra money just for doing their job. Along the same lines, maybe the technicians did not feel that they were doing something wrong by asking for a "reward" money since it is apparently a cultural norm in Pakistan. However, for someone from a developed country, this can be shocking and quite unnerving (especially when the same techs actually working on your scalp with sharp instruments).