PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to be determined to keep focus on matters relating to one of the largest public sector medical institutions – Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). Once again on Wednesday, he ordered strict action against officials found guilty of criminal negligence in the recent fire incident, saying no leniency would be shown to those responsible for the tragedy. Immediately after return from his visit abroad, the PM chaired an emergency meeting to discuss issues relating to the Ministry of Health and fire in PIMS and directed the health minister and health secretary to ensure their personal presence at the Institute on alternate days and oversee, under their supervision, the implementation of measures for hospital’s improvement.
There is universal demand that tragic incident of fire in which fourteen new born babies were burnt alive must not lose attention unless an all-round justice is provided to families of the victims, officials responsible are proceeded against in the courts of law and verifiable steps are taken to guard against such incidents in future. No doubt, the tragedy prompted immediate action from federal government, with PM Shehbaz forming a 5-member inquiry committee. The committee’s interim report highlighted several deficiencies at the hospital and recommended action against eight individuals. Those identified as responsible have been suspended but this is not enough and criminal cases against them should be registered to send right kind of message for all those working in public dealing organisations. In line with longstanding demand, reforms in PIMS have been initiated and these should lead to visible improvement in the working and delivery of service by the institution. However, reforms should not be confined to the PIMS as conditions in almost all public sector medical institutions are pathetic, which virtually amounts to wastage of budget on them. Apart from safety aspect that should receive priority for understandable reasons, their diagnostic and treatment facilities should be upgraded and capacity enlarged in a meaningful way. Privatisation or hiring from private sector, as suggested by the Health Minister, is no solution. If health institutions of armed forces can excel then question arises why not those under the administrative control of federal and provincial governments.
