Two recent crimes committed at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), one of the three government hospitals in the city, have highlighted its vulnerability to criminals and terrorists.

While the kidnapping of the newborn on September 10 from the maternity ward of BBH was widely reported, less publicised was the case of a man caught impersonating as a doctor.

On September 8, a man wearing a lab coat and with a stethoscope hanging on his shoulders was examining patients in the emergency ward when he was stopped by the ward master Irshad Abbasi on the complaint of a female patient.

The ward master had not seen the ‘doctor’ before and asked him to identify himself. Later, he identified himself as Khurram Ijaz Ghori, a resident of Sadiqabad Rawalpindi, and was handed over to the police post at the hospital for further questioning.

Even after a week since Ghori has been in police custody, it remains unclear as to how he had managed to enter the emergency ward – one of the most sensitive areas in the hospital – as a doctor, and what his motives were. The police are also investigating as to how long he had managed to work there unnoticed.

On the other hand, after the kidnapping of the newborn came to light two days later, the hospital administration formed a committee to investigate the incident and affix the responsibility for the security lapse.

“As part of the reviewed security, a hospital staff will be deployed along with security guard at the exit to check the discharge slip of the patient and her baby to avert such incidents in future,” the MS hospital said and added that whoever from the hospital staff was found responsible for negligence in the baby abduction case would be punished.

However, there are countless unreported incidents occurring daily in the hospital because the hospital administration has failed to implement the standard operating procedure prepared by the provincial health department. It’s about time it took the security of its staff and patients seriously.