Newborns died because of smoke, not fire, says parliamentary secy 

Parliamentary Secretary for Health Nelson Azeem, who visited the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday, said that 14 newborns died at the hospital not due to the fire, but by inhaling smoke, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

He said that infants had been tagged, and they were handed over to their parents after establishing their identity.

He said that all staff was present at the hospital at the time of the incident.

Following reports that the technical staff and duty staff members were not present inside the Children’s Ward’s nursery at the time of fire, the PIMS, Islamabad administration on Wednesday suspended all staff members.

Sources told the 24News TV channel that an investigation into the incident was underway as a team of National Forensic Science Agency had started collecting evidence.

They informed it had been revealed that power supply was disconnected and emergency lights did not turn on following the fire.

The inquiry committee also recorded initial statements of the duty staff, who said that the incubator caught fire due to the supply of oxygen. 

Meanwhile, as per a moving statement from a woman, who was present at the hospital at the time of the incident, no doctor or a member of paramedical staff was present inside the ward.

She said that the door of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was closed as well. 

On the other hand, PIMS Executive Director (ED) Rana Imran Iskandar has claimed that two doctors, four nurses and other staffers were present in the ICU. “One of the doctors saved the life of a newborn,” he said, adding that the fire system installed at the hospital was functional. 

The executive director said that there were 24 oxygen cylinders and rescue teams faced no difficulty during the operation.

However, he said that action would be taken if any one was found guilty. 

The ED went on to say that the entry of people in the ward had been restricted due to incidents of newborns being taken away from hospitals in the past.

PMA Central demands action

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Central has demanded the removal of all those who were responsible for the incident from their posts.

Secretary General PMA Central Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro has said that hospitals across the country lack adequate facilities. “Even at several Karachi hospitals, there are no facilities to extinguish fire,” he said, and urged the prime minister and the federal health minister to look into the matter seriously. 

He lamented that inquiry committees were formed after such incidents, which were forgotten after a few days.

Reporter: Tayyab Saif