Pakistan hospital workers pressured to falsify reports in TPG rise fund investigation

August 26, 2025 (MLN): At Evercare Lahore in Pakistan, staff have reported an overwhelming demand for cardiology procedures, with records showing that on some days a single doctor performing up to 17 in one day, leaving little time for proper sanitation and increasing the risk of infections, according to Bloomberg.

Employees said the hospital’s CEO pressured them to falsify financial reports. When they reported their concerns to the hospital chain’s headquarters and saw no substantial changes, many chose to leave the company.

This case is part of a wider investigation by Bloomberg into the billions of dollars invested by global development institutions, led by the World Bank, to expand for-profit hospitals in Africa and Asia over the past two decades.

The initiative was intended to make health care more accessible, but reports suggest that in practice the companies running these facilities have not always met that goal

A January documentation of Bloomberg stated that a patient accounted of being denied treatment or held in hospitals over unpaid bills. In one case, a mother in Uganda said she was forced to wait for 45 minutes while her baby struggled to breathe until a credit card was delivered to cover the costs.

In the Philippines, a patient said his medication was cut off and he was kept in the hospital for an extra week until he could arrange payment of an $11,000 bill.

The latest documentation examines the role of private equity, focusing on TPG’s Rise Fund, co-founded by U2’s Bono.

Rise now manages five hospitals and dozens of clinics across three countries and is backed by the International Finance Corporation, the Gates Foundation, and several other development banks.

The model has gained traction as U.S. foreign aid budgets have been reduced, with policymakers exploring ways to channel investment through Wall Street.

In Nairobi, doctors at Avenue Healthcare, another TPG-owned hospital, said their pay was tied to strict revenue targets and some were asked to refer most patients for additional tests.

One patient was billed $15,000, including $500 for dozens of masks and unrelated lab work outside experts later determined many charges were unjustified, and the bill was eventually reduced by about 20 percent.

TPG disputed the idea that profits were placed ahead of patients, saying its hospitals operate under strong clinical governance and patient rights frameworks.

The investigation also uncovered allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers.

In Kenya, Avenue Healthcare manager Faith Waweru raised concerns about staff mistreatment and alleged racist comments by the hospital’s CEO.

Days after escalating her concerns to TPG leadership, she was suspended and later dismissed, though she went on to win a wrongful termination case, Bloomberg added.

TPG said it has zero tolerance for discrimination or intimidation and that it appointed outside auditors in response to the Pakistan claims, though it did not disclose their findings.

The CEO at the center of the complaints denied the allegations and was later promoted.

Bloomberg noted that while many patients benefit from upgraded facilities and staff training, there is little evidence that these for-profit hospitals are serving those with the lowest incomes as per poverty expert’s opinion.

 “Privatization in health care may work for elites, and even more for providers and governments,” said Philip Alston, former UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty to Bloomberg. “But it is a losing proposition for the poor, and often the middle class.”

Furthermore, The International Finance Corporation acknowledged that it does not track whether for-profit hospitals are reaching the poorest populations but has continued to invest in them.

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