Pims hospital ‘lacked’ fire safety NOC

• IHRA issues licenses to clinics and labs.
• CDA asked IHRA twice not to issue licenses.
• 14 infants died due to fire at Pims hospital.

ISLAMABAD: Pims hospital lacked a fire safety NOC, while the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority itself had inadequate fire safety arrangements, sources told Truth Wire on Thursday.

Fourteen infants died after a fire broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Wednesday morning. The nursery housed 15 newborns at the time, according to Pims officials, with only one infant rescued.

The sources said the authority, which issues licences to hospitals, laboratories and clinics, renews licences without ensuring fire safety arrangements.

For annual licence renewals, hospitals reportedly rely on photographs of rescue training conducted in November and December, the sources said.

The sources said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had twice written to the authority, asking it not to issue certificates to hospitals without fire safety arrangements.

However, the authority never responded to the CDA’s letters, according to the sources.

The IHRA is the regulatory body responsible for ensuring safety and security at hospitals, while fire safety arrangements and training are part of the annual licence renewal process.