Federal health minister orders fire safety audit nationwide
Hospitals, basic health units and rural health centres under the Ministry of Health face a comprehensive review of fire safety and basic infrastructure.
Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal has ordered a comprehensive review of fire safety and basic infrastructure at all healthcare facilities under his ministry. The directive applies to hospitals, healthcare institutions, basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs), according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The ministry did not immediately give a timeline for the audit or say how many facilities would be covered. The order covers only those facilities administered by the federal ministry, not provincial or private hospitals. The Associated Press of Pakistan reported the directive on September 24.
The review will examine fire safety measures and the condition of basic infrastructure. The ministry statement did not link the order to any specific fire or building failure, but public health facilities in Pakistan have faced repeated safety concerns in recent years.
Separately, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency carried out surprise inspections of healthcare facilities in Sakrand to check compliance with environmental laws and hospital waste-management rules. The inspections were led by Dr Gul Ameer Sumbal, regional incharge of SEPA's Shaheed Benazirabad office, APP reported. The team visited Taluka Hospital Sakrand and other medical facilities in the area, according to APP.
The SEPA action was a waste-management inspection, not part of the fire-safety audit ordered by the federal minister. It is the latest in a series of provincial checks on hospital waste disposal, APP reported on September 23.
No further details on the federal safety audit, including whether the review would be conducted by an external agency, were immediately available.
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