KARACHI:
A major healthcare crackdown in Karachi has exposed a disturbing picture of regulatory failures, with the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) finding that most of the 18 healthcare facilities inspected were operating without mandatory registration or lacking essential licences. The violations, ranging from poor infection control to unsafe medical waste practices, have triggered immediate action, including the closure of critical units at a major maternity hospital over the risks they pose to mothers and newborns.
According to the SHCC, inspection teams visited health facilities in the western, southern and eastern districts of the city, examining compliance with registration and licensing requirements, infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols, sterilization procedures, biomedical waste disposal, patient safety measures and other regulatory standards.
The inspections covered 18 facilities, including 10 clinics, four hospitals, two maternity hospitals and two primary health care centers.
The commission found that 11 of the 18 facilities were operating without registration, while five registered institutions did not possess the mandatory provisional license issued by the SHCC. Only two facilities were registered and in possession of the required provisional license.
The SHCC has issued notices to all institutions that have committed violations, ordering them to rectify the deficiencies and comply with legal requirements within seven days. He warned that failure to do so would result in further action under the Sindh Healthcare Commission Act.
The most serious violations were reported at a major maternity hospital in Karachi’s southern district, where inspectors identified conditions that posed risks to mothers and newborns.
As a result, the commission ordered the immediate closure of the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), operating room and Central Sterile Supplies Department (CSSD) until the deficiencies are addressed.
Overall, the SHCC decided to initiate formal enforcement proceedings against two maternity hospitals, a hospital and a primary health care center for what it described as serious regulatory violations.
Inspectors also identified deficiencies at several facilities in the safe disposal of medical waste, handling of used syringes and other biomedical waste, sterilization procedures, and infection control practices, and described the deficiencies as a major public health problem.
A SHCC spokesperson said the commission would continue to take indiscriminate action against healthcare providers who endanger patients’ lives, provide substandard services or violate regulatory requirements.
“The commission will not compromise safe injection practices, effective sterilization, infection prevention and control, or proper disposal of medical waste,” the spokesperson said.
The commission added that the special inspection drive would continue across Sindh to ensure that all healthcare institutions comply with the prescribed medical and legal standards and provide safe, quality and responsible healthcare services to the public.
