ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Members of the National Assembly\u2019s Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said on Thursday that the fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), which claimed the lives of 14 infants, may have been caused by a \u201ctechnical fault\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had attributed Wednesday\u2019s incident to a spark in the air conditioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But standing committee chairperson Mahesh Kumar Malani told the media in Islamabad on Thursday that \u201cwe have to see whether the fire was the result of negligence or a natural cause. It appears that there may have been a technical fault\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the source of the fire had yet to be ascertained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome said that a spark was caused by an old air conditioner, [but] it had not been working for some time. The other two were portable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malani said one of the doctors had stated that a spark was caused by a bundle of wires while the nurses said it all happened suddenly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo no one saw where the spark came from. We have concluded that no one knows the source of the fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled it was earlier stated that the presence of oxygen caused the fire to spread, adding that it was possible that there was a fault in the oxygen pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, \u201cone thing is final, no one knows the source of the fire\u201d, he reiterated, adding that the hospital\u2019s executive director also agreed that the spark had not originated from the air conditioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNevertheless, there was a fault (somewhere),\u201d Malani continued, suggesting that it could either have been in \u201coxygen pipes or the electricity wiring\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the nursery where the incident took place was built in 1990 and stressed that there should not have been a nursery in the old building, particularly when there was a newly built block available on the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe nursery was not fit for the babies. This was supposed to be a gynae ward, and the babies should have been kept in the new block which was well-equipped,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malani told reporters that the standing committee had sought answers from the hospital administration on certain questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are calling a committee meeting and will look at the issue on the grounds of merit,\u201d he said, adding that the committee would also study the findings to be presented by a separate inquiry committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz within 24-48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing next to Malani, Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party MNA Gul Asghar Khan said, \u201cWe have also asked Pims how often fire drills are carried out in the hospital and when the last drill was conducted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the committee had also sought information on Pims\u2019 last fire audit as well as human errors which may have led to the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PPP MNA Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro added that the committee had also requested information on the functionality of fire alarms at the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking note of \u201cconflicting statements\u201d by the staff, she said they suggested that \u201ceither there was no one on duty, or if they were on duty, they were somewhere outside\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She demanded that the Pims executive director, as well as the health minister, step down on \u201cmoral grounds\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a question, Malani said that \u201ctechnical experts\u201d should also be consulted in determining the cause of the fire. He, too, took note of the conflicting accounts by the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe gynae head told me that there was a bundle of wires in the ward, while someone said there may have been an oxygen cylinder that exploded\u201d, he said, adding, \u201cHow could an oxygen cylinder have exploded when there weren\u2019t any?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the source of the fire was not yet known, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malani said the committee would examine \u201cwhether the right person was appointed for the right job\u201d to ascertain any technical faults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Committee member Farakh Khan also spoke on the occasion and raised concerns about whether the nursery had undergone any maintenance over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf any maintenance had been carried out, why was an old air conditioner still installed in the room and why was the wiring left exposed?\u201d she questioned, adding that if the administration could not manage the nursery, \u201cthey should finish it off\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malani then said the committee had sought information on the budget of Pims\u2019 Mother and Child Health Care Centre, and details about \u201chow much of it was utilised\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said details about the number of times the oxygen and electricity systems were examined had specifically been sought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl MNA Aliya Kamran said when the committee members spoke to the nurses, \u201cit appeared as if they had been told what to say\u201d. She said the staff had left the infants unattended as the fire broke out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are also not satisfied with the account the doctor on duty gave us,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She claimed there was a \u201cdeliberate attempt\u201d to push the narrative that the blaze had originated from the air conditioner. Kamran said that the NA committee would call the hospital administration and \u201cquestion them within our capacity and present a fair opinion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Echoing her fellows\u2019 remarks, Kamran demanded that the health minister resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe inquiry team will not be able to maintain transparency if he is in power,\u201d she said and demanded that the on-duty staff be suspended and their medical licences be revoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fire at Pims
On Wednesday, 14 babies died after a fire erupted in Mother and Child Hospital\u2019s ward at Pims. At the time, the health minister claimed that the fire began with a spark in the AC, while the bereaved families said the rescue teams arrived too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a statement by the hospital, the incident was \u201cinitially caused by a spark inside nursery at 06:38am and within seconds a massive fire erupted due to oxygen points at each incubator\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said two doctors and two nurses on duty inside the nursery responded \u201cimmediately and called security staff, who joined in and tried to get in twice [to bring] babies out until 06:39am, when a huge blast occurred and ceilings fell down\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several witnesses, their hands and faces blackened from the smoke, told AFP they waited hours for help from the emergency services and were forced to smash through windows to get to the ward while some found the doors locked \u2014 an account the hospital and government later denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed an inquiry committee and removed federal Health Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, a notification issued by the Islamabad district magistrate said that a seven-member fact-finding committee, headed by the additional deputy commissioner general (ADCG), had been formed to determine the facts behind the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Wednesday, the health minister said he will present himself to his superiors for accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the incident was being investigated by \u201cexperts, different institutions including us\u201d, adding that \u201cnothing will remain hidden and all facts will be unearthed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident has sparked outrage across the political spectrum, with many demanding accountability and criticising the hospital administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Members of the National Assembly\u2019s Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said on Thursday that the fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), which claimed the lives of 14 infants, may have been caused by a \u201ctechnical fault\u201d. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had attributed Wednesday\u2019s incident to a spark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n