KARACHI: A woman and her newborn baby died during childbirth at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, due to alleged medical negligence and non-availability of an ICU bed, according to the family.
According to media reports, the woman was initially admitted to the Gynecology ward for delivery. Instead of receiving specialized maternal care, she was shifted to the Gastroenterology ward.
When her condition deteriorated, doctors referred her to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but the family alleges that an ICU bed was not provided despite repeated pleas.
The relatives stated that due to the unavailability of a bed, the woman was forced to give birth in extreme agony without proper medical support, resulting in the death of both mother and newborn due to lack of timely care and attention.
Claims vs. Reality of Sindh’s Health System
The incident has once again exposed the stark contrast between the claims of the Sindh government and the reality inside its public hospitals.
While Sindh government ministers and functionaries frequently brag in press conferences, assembly speeches and public events that people from around the world and from all over Pakistan are coming to Sindh to avail state-of-the-art free health facilities — often citing JPMC and NICVD as success stories — patients in Karachi’s largest tertiary care hospital continue to struggle for a single ICU bed.
The relatives have demanded the Chief Minister of Sindh and the Health Department take immediate notice of the incident, order an impartial inquiry, and fix responsibility for the criminal negligence that led to two deaths.
