In the early hours of the day, around Sehri time, two women impersonating doctors abducted a newborn child from the Ahmed Medical Centre in Karachi. What makes this tragedy worse is that none of the 32 CCTV cameras installed in the hospitals appeared to be functioning, thereby making it much harder for the police to identify and trace the steps of the kidnappers. The police have launched an investigation into the matter but the fact remains that it is unacceptable for public places like hospitals to operate with little measures for security and control. The loss and stress incurred to the family is incomprehensible and someone must be held accountable.
According to the details of the report, two women impersonating a doctor arrived in the room of the mother and notified her of the baby running a high fever. They proposed to take the child to the ward so that he may be taken care of after which, they were never seen again.
There have been multiple instances like this in private and public hospitals and according to the Pakistan Medical Association, the lack of an accountability system is the main reason for this upwards proliferation in kidnappings. Surely there must be a mechanism within hospitals, where there is free flowing traffic, which prevents any sort of foul play from happening and the lack of points towards a serious fault in the entire system.
Investigation into such cases usually falls under the jurisdiction of the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) which is responsible for monitoring the operations of hospitals, ensuring a minimum standard of operations as well as enforcing accountability. Such maladministration—given that all 32 cameras were not functional—is deserving of some sort of penalty because the onus to protect patients lies on the hospitals, at least for the duration in which they are admitted. An inquiry must be made into what led to the failure of the surveillance system and why. Accordingly, some action must be taken against the hospital for failing to cater to its patients and enabling horrendous crimes from taking place on their premises.
According to the details of the report, two women impersonating a doctor arrived in the room of the mother and notified her of the baby running a high fever. They proposed to take the child to the ward so that he may be taken care of after which, they were never seen again.
There have been multiple instances like this in private and public hospitals and according to the Pakistan Medical Association, the lack of an accountability system is the main reason for this upwards proliferation in kidnappings. Surely there must be a mechanism within hospitals, where there is free flowing traffic, which prevents any sort of foul play from happening and the lack of points towards a serious fault in the entire system.
Investigation into such cases usually falls under the jurisdiction of the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) which is responsible for monitoring the operations of hospitals, ensuring a minimum standard of operations as well as enforcing accountability. Such maladministration—given that all 32 cameras were not functional—is deserving of some sort of penalty because the onus to protect patients lies on the hospitals, at least for the duration in which they are admitted. An inquiry must be made into what led to the failure of the surveillance system and why. Accordingly, some action must be taken against the hospital for failing to cater to its patients and enabling horrendous crimes from taking place on their premises.
