Court seeks report on action against private hospitals violating healthcare law

The Sindh High Court directed the chief executive officer of the Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) on Thursday to submit a progress report identifying action being taken by the commission against healthcare establishments which were working in violation of the healthcare law.

The directive came during a hearing of a petition seeking action against unlicensed healthcare establishments in the province. A provincial law officer submitted that two progress reports had already been filed before the court.

SHCC acting CEO Farhana Memon submitted that the commission was receiving complaints on a daily basis, they were investigating the complaints against such healthcare establishments and fines were being imposed on them. She said action was also being taken against quacks and illegal practitioners.

A division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar directed Memon to submit a fresh progress report on the next date identifying action being taken by the commission against healthcare establishments which were working in violation of the healthcare law.

The court also directed the petitioners’ counsel to go through the progress report of the SHCC and identify such areas in which further attention was required for the implementation of the law. The court observed that the matter would be next heard on October 13.

Jaffer Raza and Asad Iftikhar submitted in the petition that several patients, including nine-month-old girl Nishwa, had died due to alleged medical negligence on the part of private healthcare institutions.

They said medical negligence at such a regular frequency only indicated that the issue was rampant in our society and could only be attributed to weak laws and even weaker implementation.