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The systemic collapse of Pakistan''s public healthcare sector has been exposed following shocking revelations of gross medical negligence and hazardous waste management practices at a state-run hospital in Sindh, Dawn reported.
The Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) uncovered severe operational lapses during a regulatory inspection at the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI)-run Valika Hospital in Karachi''s SITE area, where a massive institutional failure has triggered a catastrophic health crisis. In a statement issued on Friday, the regulatory watchdog revealed that needles were manually removed from syringes after use and were not found in sharps bins at the facility. "This raised serious concerns about the hospital''s medical waste management practices, as it was unclear where the removed needles had gone or how they had been disposed of," the healthcare commission said. Technical personnel at the facility were completely unable to explain the whereabouts or disposal methods of the contaminated medical waste to the visiting inspectors. The severe regulatory failures highlighting Pakistan''s broken institutional oversight intensified after a massive HIV outbreak at the hospital left at least 78 children infected with the virus, according to Dawn. Subsequent health screenings conducted in the immediate vicinity confirmed an additional 120 positive cases, uncovering a deep-seated public health disaster driven by basic hygiene violations and administrative breakdown. Despite the hospital management establishing an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Committee, Dawn reported that "many important issues were still found during the visit" by the inspection team. The commission noted that the state-run hospital failed to provide any formal safety training to its personnel or produce any written guidelines. Furthermore, the operational capability of crucial sterilisation equipment could not be confirmed, while essential medical workers were found missing from their posts. "The working condition of the autoclave could not be verified during the visit. Nursing and operation theatre (OT) staffs were also not available during duty time, which was making it difficult to assess routine infection control practices of their duty places," the regulatory body added. The healthcare commission further detailed that medical waste handling was entirely compromised by aggressive staff unionisation and an unwillingness by employees to cooperate with safety protocols, Dawn reported. "The team found that medical waste was not being segregated and disposed of according to IPC guidelines. Staff showed poor knowledge about safe medical waste handling. The private contractor responsible for collecting and disposing of medical waste had also not received proper training." Following independent inquiries that confirmed widespread non-adherence to infection-prevention measures and the dangerous reuse of single-use syringes, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah ordered the suspension of 37 officers and officials, including administrators, laboratory personnel, and nursing staff. (ANI)
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