PUNJAB’S decision to strap body-worn cameras onto nurses, ward boys, security guards and pharmacy staff is the perfect example of how not to fix a broken public service. Hospitals are not police stations. They are spaces where people arrive frightened, in pain and exposed, both physically and emotionally. Turning wards into zones of continuous audiovisual recording violates privacy and dignity. Such a move must, therefore, be withdrawn. The government says it is responding to complaints about misbehaviour and negligence, citing viral videos such as the Nishtar Hospital incident in Multan. But any policy made in anger, driven by social-media outrage, can hardly be sound. As the Pakistan Medical Association has warned, recording every interaction between patients and front-line staff tramples rights and undermines medical confidentiality. Besides, the practicality of such a move must be considered. Who will store, review and secure thousands of hours of sensitive footage? Who will decide which clips can be accessed, by whom, and for what purpose? What happens in gynaecology wards, labour rooms, or when a patient is being examined? Even former Punjab health minister Dr Javed Akram has called the plan “inconceivable”, pointing to the impossibility of monitoring, analysing and managing such a system at scale.

Globally, although bodycams exist in hospitals, they are used by security staff to deter violence, not as a surveillance tool over clinical care. Punjab is proposing something far more intrusive, without the safeguards or the debate such a move demands. There are better ways to improve accountability. Hospitals can strengthen complaint redressal cells, introduce independent patient advocates, expand CCTV coverage in public areas, and use digital queuing and prescription systems that leave clear audit trails. Regular supervisory rounds, staff training in patient communication, and swift, transparent disciplinary processes when misconduct occurs would do more to restore trust than turning caregivers into walking recording devices.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026