Despite the loss of 13 lives in a bomb explosion in the emergency ward of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in February 2010, the provincial and city district governments are still oblivious to the security arrangements at the largest federal government healthcare institution, where patients from all parts of the country come for treatment.
Initially, entrance of private vehicles was banned within the hospital premises but over time, this restriction slackened, with even security guards not showing up to their duties.
Other federal government-run hospitals, like National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD) and National Institute of Child Health are also facing similar security crisis. At Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), the administration has blocked entry of private vehicles from the main gate, but it fails to monitor the movement of patients from other entry points.
There are many entry and exit points of Sindh Government Hospital Saudabad (SGHS), Liaquatabad General Hospital Sindh (LGHS), Sindh Government Qatar Hospital (SGQH) and Layari General Hospital (LGH). These hospitals too, have inadequate security arrangements.
However, the healthcare institutions working under Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) have adopted different security measures to protect patients and the paramedics. The administrations of the hospital have deployed the security guards and have banned entry of all type of vehicular traffic to thwart any possible terrorist attack. The only problem with this is, though, that there is no central monitoring system. The maternity homes, too, lack proper security arrangements. The maternity homes attract hundreds of patients every day who come for free medical facilities.
After JPMC blast, the Sindh Health Department wrote to the Sindh Home Department for establishment of security pickets outside major public sector hospitals but there has been no positive response from the government in this regard.