PM Sets Three-Month Deadline for PIMS Safety Reforms After Nursery Fire

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered authorities to implement short-term corrective and fire-safety measures recommended after the deadly Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences nursery fire within three months. The directive was issued during a meeting reviewing an improvement plan for PIMS, where officials examined the fire inquiry findings alongside a performance audit conducted by the Ministry of National Health Services.

The reforms follow the August 26 blaze at the Mother and Child Hospital nursery in Islamabad that killed 14 newborns. A high-level inquiry committee was constituted the same day to establish how the fire began, examine the emergency response, assess evacuation procedures and fire-safety arrangements, determine responsibility and recommend measures intended to prevent another such incident.

Officials told the meeting that a performance audit found PIMS met only 39.7 percent of the indicators examined, compared with an acceptable target of 90 percent. Authorities are moving ahead with 37 proposed measures arising from the inquiry, while separate short-, medium- and long-term changes are being prepared. The prime minister also directed that the hospital improvement plan cover the provision of medicines and other facilities free of charge and include stronger professional staffing arrangements.

Fire prevention forms a central part of the response. The government has been instructed to seek technical input from the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre for strengthening PIMS fire-safety systems. The Capital Development Authority and other relevant agencies have also been tasked with ensuring fire-safety requirements are implemented at public and private hospitals in Islamabad and with carrying out safety audits of government and private buildings across the federal capital.

The inquiry committee's detailed findings attributed the most probable origin of the nursery blaze to a localised electrical problem, while also identifying broader failures in the way previously known safety risks were addressed. Investigators said possible electrical overheating or another local defect could have damaged insulation and ignited nearby combustible material. The report also examined earlier warning signs and whether corrective measures had been completed before the fatal fire.

Accountability measures had already begun before the latest reform deadline. Following an interim inquiry report, eight officials were suspended and departmental and criminal proceedings were ordered against people identified in connection with the incident. Changes were also made in the hospital's management arrangements as authorities continued investigating responsibility for the circumstances that allowed the fire to become deadly.

The government is extending the review beyond PIMS. The prime minister has ordered an audit of Polyclinic Hospital and preparation of a restructuring plan, while the broader fire-safety instructions could affect healthcare facilities and other buildings throughout Islamabad. The immediate test will be whether the identified short-term measures are completed within the three-month deadline, followed by implementation of longer-term administrative, infrastructure and safety reforms designed to improve patient protection and hospital performance.