Pakistan government to urgently address shortage of technical staff at PIMS — Dawn
The Pakistani government has decided to urgently address the shortage of engineering and technical personnel at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after a fire at the Mother and Child Health Centre that killed 14 infants. Dawn reports.
The meeting was chaired by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal. It was attended by senior officials from the ministry, the PIMS administration, Pakistan's Capital Development Authority and other relevant agencies. Officials briefed the minister on the condition of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the Mother and Child Health Centre, which was affected by the fire.
Work on the HVAC system
Representatives of the Capital Development Authority said that work on the HVAC system had been interrupted because the building was temporarily closed as part of the incident investigation. Kamal instructed the health ministry secretary to immediately contact the relevant authorities and agree on the timeframe for handing over the affected building so that restoration work could resume without delay.
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The minister said that suitable engineers and technical experts from the pool formed after the dissolution of Pakistan's Public Works Department should be recruited to overcome the staff shortage at PIMS. It was also decided that the Health Ministry would approach the Ministry of Housing and Public Works regarding the deployment of engineers, technical experts and other necessary personnel to the hospital.
Assessment of hospital operations
The Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA), according to the Health Ministry, has launched a comprehensive assessment of PIMS infrastructure and services. Technical experts are inspecting clinical, surgical, medical, radiology and administrative departments according to established indicators. The IHRA team is to prepare recommendations to improve hospital operations, raise service standards and modernize the facility.
