Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the suspension of eight officials and directed criminal proceedings against them following a devastating fire that killed 14 newborn babies at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.
The decision came after an interim investigation found serious failures in fire-safety measures at the government-run hospital.
The fire broke out shortly before 7am on Wednesday in the Mother and Child Healthcare Centre. It started in a nursery and quickly spread through oxygen outlets connected to the incubators. Although the fire was contained to the third-floor nursery, staff could rescue only one of the 15 babies being treated there.
The suspended officials include PIMS’s executive director, two joint executive directors, the head of the neonatal department, two senior doctors, a security official and the head of the Capital Development Authority’s emergency services.
Sharif also ordered action against the company responsible for hospital security and appointed the chief executive of the National Institutes of Health as the acting director of PIMS.
According to the interim investigation, the hospital had no effective fire-safety protocols. Only two of its 13 standard operating procedures dealt with fires or emergencies.
The report also found that supervisory staff were absent when the fire started. Only two nurses, a female security guard and a house officer were present in the ward.
Emergency services were reportedly contacted six minutes after the fire began, while the first responders arrived 15 minutes after receiving the call.
Investigators also noted that another fire had occurred at the hospital’s nursing hostel a month earlier, but no significant safety improvements were made afterward.
Nurse Razia Noreen was praised for rescuing one baby before the flames engulfed the nursery. Prime Minister Sharif awarded her the Sitara-i-Khidmat state honour and a cash reward of one million Pakistani rupees for her bravery.
Pakistan’s Health Minister Mustafa Kamal described the country’s health system as “rotten” and supported a parliamentary investigation into the tragedy.
The government has also promised five million Pakistani rupees (about $17,700) in compensation to each affected family.
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