Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has suggested that government-run hospitals should not have permanent employees, days after the tragic fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences that killed 14 newborn babies.

In an interview, he said hospital staff should be hired on contract and run by a chief executive officer brought in from the private sector to ensure more effective management.

He argued that permanent employees become too powerful and often drag departments into litigation when they are dismissed.

According to him, the only permanent solution to the problems in the country’s healthcare system is to appoint a private-sector CEO with full authority over hiring and firing.

He said such a CEO should receive annual budget approval from the government and then be held fully accountable for performance and administration.

Kamal also said the inquiry report into the PIMS fire had found that only 120 seconds passed between the first spark and the blaze spreading through the Mother and Child Health Centre.

Referring to a fire at a PIMS nursing hostel about a month earlier, he said he had only learned of the incident after last week’s tragedy.

He said a short circuit in a bulb had caused a sofa to catch fire, but the matter was not reported to the ministry and was not considered a major incident.

He added that an internal committee had been formed by the previous executive director, and its report was submitted only a day before the latest tragedy.

Commenting on reports that he had offered to resign, Kamal said the ministerial post meant little to him and that he had already taken responsibility on the floor of the National Assembly.

He said that if he was ready to face accountability, then no one else should be spared, even though he believed he was not at fault.

Responding to criticism, especially from the PPP, he said the party was trying to link the tragedy with the issue of new administrative units.

He, however, said the incident supported his view that hospitals should be run by local elected leadership.

Kamal said that if Islamabad were a separate administrative unit with an elected mayor, that mayor should be responsible for running such hospitals.

He added that it should not be the job of a minister to run a hospital, but rather that of an elected mayor.

He also said the new executive director of PIMS, who is also the CEO of the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, was appointed on the recommendation of the inquiry committee.

Kamal said many top officials at such institutions consider themselves untouchable because they believe no outsider can be brought in to replace them.

He noted that the new executive director was appointed after relaxing the rules and that post-facto cabinet approval would now be required.

Earlier, new PIMS Executive Director Dr Muhammad Salman took charge and said patient safety would be his top priority.

After assuming office, he visited different departments of the hospital and reviewed the arrangements in place.

He also held a meeting with the heads of various departments to discuss the situation.

Dr Salman said the situation was challenging, but he would try to live up to the responsibility assigned to him.

He said the inquiry committee’s recommendations would be implemented, with immediate focus on patient safety.

He added that the short-term goal was to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Dr Salman said other hazards would also be reviewed, while the heavy patient load at the hospital would be managed.

He said the referral system would also be strengthened to improve patient management.

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