LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to constitute a Technical Task Force to prevent fire incidents at government teaching hospitals and to strengthen emergency response, according to an official statement issued after a high-level meeting chaired by Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Health Punjab Azmat Mahmood, Secretary Emergency Services Dr Rizwan Naseer, divisional commissioners, vice chancellors, executive directors, medical superintendents and other officers concerned. Participants carried out a detailed review of fire safety, electrical safety and emergency response arrangements at public-sector teaching hospitals.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said protecting the lives and property of patients and hospital staff was the government’s foremost priority, and that fire and electrical safety measures must be ensured at every facility without exception. He warned that a zero-tolerance policy would be adopted in cases of negligence, carelessness and irresponsibility.
The minister directed that a clear timeline be fixed for the supply of medical and emergency equipment, adding that any officer or employee failing to discharge assigned responsibilities would face action under the law and rules.
Under the decisions taken, hospital staff will receive regular fire safety and emergency response training in collaboration with Rescue 1122. A fire warden and a designated emergency response official are to be appointed in every ward, while each hospital will prepare a comprehensive emergency plan.
Secretary Health Punjab Azmat Mahmood told the meeting that fire alarm and fire detection systems were being installed on an emergency basis at hospitals across Punjab. Electrical appliances, wiring and allied systems will be inspected in detail, with a monthly report submitted to the Health Department.
He directed chief executive officers, medical superintendents and deputy medical superintendents of all hospitals to finalise evacuation and emergency response plans within 24 hours in coordination with Rescue 1122. It was further decided that all hospitals will complete testing of fire safety and emergency equipment and submit audit reports, while a structural and safety audit will be carried out with the support of the Communication and Works Department.
Divisional and district administrations, the Health Department, Rescue 1122, Civil Defence and C&W have been instructed to work through joint coordination to identify potential hazards inside hospitals and eliminate them in time.
The provincial exercise follows a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, where 14 newborns died after a blaze in the critical care nursery of the Mother and Child Hospital. Hospital management attributed the fire to a short circuit in the nursery’s air-conditioning unit.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif subsequently ordered a fresh audit of public-sector health facilities within 24 hours, along with a review of emergency exits, firefighting equipment, air-conditioners, wiring and electro-medical equipment, and directed deputy commissioners to make monthly emergency drills at health facilities a permanent feature.
The concern is not new for Punjab. In June 2024, a comparable fire in the paediatric ward of Sahiwal Teaching Hospital killed 11 infants. The Punjab Healthcare Commission has separately instructed public and private hospitals to strengthen emergency preparedness through trained personnel, functional equipment and regular drills.
With audit reports, evacuation plans and equipment testing now on fixed deadlines, the credibility of the announced measures will rest on enforcement — particularly the monthly electrical inspection regime and the promised action against officials who fail to comply.
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