PIMS Went Uninspected for Two Years, IHRA Tells Senate Committee

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination was informed on Monday that the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) had not conducted an inspection of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) during the past two years, bringing regulatory oversight of the federal capital’s largest public-sector hospital under fresh parliamentary scrutiny.

The disclosure was made by the acting chief executive officer of IHRA during a meeting of the Senate committee held at PIMS on August 31. The Senate’s official meeting schedule confirms that the committee, chaired by Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, convened at PIMS at noon on Monday.

According to the briefing presented before the committee, PIMS had not been inspected by IHRA for the last two years. The admission prompted questions from committee members about the regulator’s oversight of healthcare standards and institutional compliance at one of Islamabad’s most important government hospitals.

IHRA itself describes its inspection department as responsible under the Islamabad Healthcare Regulation Act, 2018 for inspecting healthcare establishments, equipment and services in connection with registration, licensing and regulatory compliance. The authority says its broader mandate includes ensuring that healthcare establishments in the Islamabad Capital Territory provide safe and reliable healthcare services.

PIMS Tragedy Brings Oversight Under Scrutiny

The two-year inspection gap has assumed particular significance following the August 26 incident at the Mother and Child Health/Nursery section of PIMS, which led to the deaths of 14 newborns and triggered multiple official investigations and reviews of emergency preparedness and safety arrangements.

During Monday’s proceedings, a committee member alleged that no doctor was present at the relevant location when the incident occurred. Senator Nasir Butt also strongly challenged aspects of the briefing, accusing officials of giving misleading information. These assertions were made during the committee proceedings and remain subject to the findings of the formal inquiry.

The federal health minister suggested that the inquiry committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif be summoned before the Senate panel, saying the investigators currently possess the most comprehensive information gathered about the incident.

The prime minister had constituted the high-level inquiry committee on August 26 to establish the immediate cause and timeline of the incident, assess the emergency response of PIMS staff and outside agencies, examine compliance with evacuation and safety procedures, determine responsibility and recommend measures to prevent a recurrence. The committee is headed by former federal secretary Shahid Khan.

An interim report subsequently presented to the prime minister identified serious shortcomings in safety infrastructure and emergency preparedness. Following the report, the government ordered suspension and disciplinary proceedings against several officials and directed further institutional action.

Questions Raised Over Fire-Safety Regulation

Questions over regulatory oversight had already surfaced after the PIMS incident. Reports published last week said the hospital lacked a fire-safety NOC and that CDA had previously written to IHRA over linking healthcare licensing with adequate safety arrangements. Those claims have added another layer to the debate over the respective responsibilities of PIMS, IHRA, CDA and other agencies.

IHRA has previously stated that its regulatory work includes inspections of healthcare facilities and implementation of minimum service-delivery standards. In June 2024, the authority also announced that it and the Environmental Protection Agency would conduct inspections of healthcare facilities to monitor medical-waste systems and act where non-compliance was observed.

At Monday’s meeting, however, the Senate committee chairman said members were not satisfied with the performance of both IHRA and CDA in relation to the issues under examination.

The chairman further said the committee was dissatisfied with the performance of Civil Defence, widening parliamentary scrutiny beyond hospital management to the broader regulatory and emergency-response structure operating in the federal capital.

The proceedings concluded with the possibility that the prime minister-appointed inquiry committee could now be called before the Senate health panel to provide lawmakers with a detailed account of its evidence, findings and recommendations.

The development signals that parliamentary examination of the PIMS incident is shifting from the immediate circumstances of August 26 toward a broader question: whether Islamabad’s regulatory, inspection and emergency-response institutions adequately exercised their responsibilities before the incident occurred.