National Assembly Standing Committee Demands Resignation of Federal Health Minister
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health has officially asked the Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal to resign in the aftermath of the devastating hospital nursery fire in PIMs.
The Standing Committee led by Dr. Mahesh Kumar went to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital to take a look at the scene of the tragedy. The committee members voiced strong criticism at the hospital’s management and questioned the accuracy of the conflicting accounts of how the fire had started.
The statements below contradict each other.Below are statements that contradict.Below are statements that contradict.
In an interview with the media, Standing Committee Chairman Dr. Mahesh Kumar added that it is an “odd” incident as the Health Minister had said that a spark had originated from an old AC, but others argued that an oxygen cylinder had burst. “Nobody really knows what caused the fire,” he added. Meanwhile, the air conditioner in the ward had been reported by people in the ward to have been out of order for a long time, he added.
In her address, the committee member Dr. Shazia Sobia strongly criticized doctors and staff reports of the patients’ deaths, as they conflict with each other, and said the committee would be setting up an independent panel of old doctors to investigate the deaths in detail, explicitly demanding the resignation of the Health Minister and the PIMS Executive Director.
The inspection of CCTV footage was part of the Building Allocation inquiry.CCTV footage was inspected as part of the Building Allocation inquiry.
Also asked, the Standing Committee chairman, was whether footage from the CCTV could determine the air conditioner was the cause of the fire, indicating that no clear evidence has come from the footage yet.
Dr. Mahesh Kumar said that the current block of the nursery was built in 1990 and a new block of more modern construction was built recently at the hospital. The medical staff on the committee felt that the newly-built block with all the advanced facilities would have been more appropriate for the nursery where the critically ill babies are kept, he said. Rather, the new block was used for the gynaecology ward and infants continued to be housed in the old, dilapidated block. He said that the committee will be looking at whether the school’s decision to utilize the old building for the nursery, rather than the new block, was proper.
At the end of his speech, Dr. Mahesh Kumar declared that the Standing Committee on Health will meet soon and call in all relevant officials to query them. He requested all committee members, including PTI committee members to attend and said it was a very serious issue for the country.