LAHORE (Web Desk) A monitoring report by the Punjab Chief Minister’s Special Monitoring Unit has uncovered the presence of expired medicines in both outpatient and inpatient sections of Lahore’s Children’s Hospital, raising serious concerns about patient safety.
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The report warned that outdated drugs, including injectable medicines, pose a direct threat to children’s lives and noted that such items were neither properly destroyed nor securely stored. In response, the monitoring unit ordered a comprehensive audit of all hospital wards and pharmacy outlets.
The findings also pointed to widespread shortcomings in patient care, medicine availability, cleanliness, staff attendance, and security arrangements within the hospital.
According to the report, the hospital’s MRI machine remains non-functional, resulting in prolonged delays for diagnostic imaging. Surgical services were also found to be significantly backlogged, with some pediatric patients reportedly remaining admitted for weeks without examinations or scheduled procedures.
The monitoring team observed instances of unprofessional behavior by staff toward both patients and inspection teams. It further noted the absence of several doctors, nurses, and other employees during duty hours.
Due to medicine shortages, families were compelled to purchase drugs from private pharmacies, while laboratory tests for children were being conducted at external private labs.
Sanitation and safety conditions were described as poor, with unclean beds, open waste bins, discarded syringes, unhygienic washrooms, and a lack of functional fire extinguishers posing additional risks.
