Poor security in hospitals

Hospital authorities all across the country need to step up and put an end to infants being kidnapped.

A 10-day-old infant was kidnapped at the gynaecology ward of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar, allegedly by an unidentified woman posing as a member of staff. We cannot even imagine the pain his parents must be going through right now. No parent should ever go through such trauma. It is the duty of the hospital authorities and the police to get to the bottom of this heinous act, find the culprits and recover the baby.

This is not the first time that an infant has been kidnapped in such a manner. In fact, such incidents have become quite common of late. It is quite worrying that this horrendous business of infant-napping is going on under the very nose of major hospital managements. There is merit to the accusations levelled by the parents of kidnapped babies that such incidents are not possible without “insider help”. In the past, we have seen how some doctors and hospitals were found removing organs from patients without their knowledge, for sale in the black market. Newborn babies who go missing are said to be sold to childless parents willing to pay a high price, beggar mafias or for illegal organ trading, among other things. Such incidents should not be taken lightly.

Hospital authorities all across the country need to step up and put an end to this business. Security must be beefed up, especially in and around gynaecology wards. There should be a proper mechanism whereby only those authorised by the newborn’s family are allowed to see the child. In case of a kidnapping, all staff members should be thoroughly investigated and if any one of them is alleged to be involved in aiding and abetting kidnappers, he/she should be fired immediately and criminal proceedings should be initiated against them right away. The lives of innocent children are at stake. Those who stoop so low as to kidnap infants and put parents through such misery must be dealt with an iron hand.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.