Infant deaths at Pakistan hospital prompt Sindh govt to renew fire safety directives

The tragic deaths of 14 infants in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have highlighted dangerous conditions at health facilities across Sindh, prompting authorities to issue new directives for fire safety. The incident has spurred a review and strengthening of safety measures at all healthcare facilities, public places, and buildings within the province.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has voiced strong concerns, warning that health facilities in Sindh remain highly vulnerable to fires. At a press conference, PMA representatives called for concrete steps to enhance safety for both patients and staff, emphasizing that hospitals should be sanctuaries, not sites of tragedy due to administrative failures.

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If a flagship institution operating directly under federal oversight lacks functional emergency exits, maintained fire suppression systems and basic safety protocols, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: our healthcare system is in crisis from the top down.

In response, Sindh's Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah has directed all provincial departments to complete reviews of fire safety arrangements. Compliance certificates for these reviews must be submitted within 15 days. Additionally, hospitals run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) have been instructed to ensure the installation of essential safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, alarms, and detection systems.

PMA representatives described the Pims fire as a predictable outcome of "criminal negligence, complete administrative breakdown and structural failure." They pointed out that if a major federal institution lacks basic safety protocols like functional emergency exits and maintained fire suppression systems, the situation in rural and underprivileged areas of Sindh is likely far worse. The association cited previous fire incidents at Sindh hospitals, including the National Institute of Child Health, Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences, and Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad, which resulted in fatalities, underscoring systemic failures across the country's healthcare infrastructure.

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Hospitals must be sanctuaries of healing, not places where infants and patients pay for administrative failure with their lives.