THE disappearance of a 65-year old patient admitted in the Services Hospital and the recovery of his dead body from the base of a lift 10 days after he went missing, put a question mark on the way our public hospitals are being run. Reportedly, the patient opened the door of the lift to step in but fell down, as there was no elevator, causing his death. Worse still, his body kept lying at the base for so long. It would be unwise to attribute the death to the patient's ill luck. The reality is that the lift had been out of order but the hospital administration neither repaired it nor sealed its door to prevent an unwary person from stepping in. The death is a sad reflection on the state of our hospitals and points to the indifference of those in charge and the plight of those who have no choice but to go there. Though Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif's surprise raids have proven effective in certain respects, real improvement will occur with strengthening the institutions and not by dispensing rough and ready justice.