A 20-member committee has been constituted to recommend administrative and operational reforms at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) following the fire that claimed the lives of 14 newborns.
The special committee comprises health experts from the public and private sectors and has been tasked with reviewing the hospital’s management and overall affairs.
According to the reports, the committee will propose measures aimed at improving PIMS’s administrative and operational structure and submit its recommendations to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The prime minister will take a final decision regarding the hospital’s administrative affairs after reviewing the committee’s proposals, they added.
The PIMS Board of Governors would also comprise members from different walks of life.
The development comes amid reported differences between the federal health ministry and the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) in the aftermath of the PIMS fire.
Five more IHRA members have tendered their resignations, taking the total number of members who have stepped down to nine.
The latest resignations were submitted by Prof Naeem Malik, Dr Matiur Rehman, retired Col Dr Arif Maqsood, Kashif Zahoor and Asma Khalil to the health ministry.
Their resignations follow that of IHRA Chairman Dr Riyaz Shehbaz Janjua, who stepped down on Aug 28.
The members had decided to resign collectively over what they viewed as increasing interference by the health ministry in the affairs of the regulatory authority.
They were also reportedly unhappy over criticism directed at the IHRA following the PIMS tragedy.
