New born baby suffers severe burns due to incubator malfunction

LAHORE: In a tragic incident at Gangaram Hospital in Lahore, an infant girl sustained severe burns apparently due to the medical staff’s negligence.

The baby was kept in an incubator, which malfunctioned, heating beyond a controllable limit and resulting in severe burns to the body of the infant.

According to the father of the infant, Rafaqat Ali, the hospital staff not only were irresponsible and uncooperative but also were rude and threw him out of the nursery when he questioned them about this act.

The incident reminds one of a similar case in 2023, when an infant died of burns due to overheating in an incubator in Lahore’s Children’s Hospital, which a committee later found to have been caused by severe negligence by doctors, nurses, and medical staff.

The then Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, took notice of the issue, visited the hospital, and formed a four-member investigation committee to investigate the causes of the incident.

Rafaqat Ali is now seeking justice from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who should investigate the incident for action against the hospital staff involved in the negligence.

This unfortunate incident reiterates the dire need for accountability and patient care to be reinforced in hospitals for the prevention of any unforgivable incidents.