THIS is with reference to the letter ‘Medical ethics lost in training culture’ (April 5) which rightly criticised the recent incident that took place at the Lady Willingdon Hospital in Lahore. It is a fact that successive governments have failed to check the conduct of doctors in hospitals across Punjab.

The reason is simple: doctors cannot control their fellow doctors. Such incidents are not new or even rare. I am at a loss to understand the role of the Punjab Health-care Commission (PHC) which prefers to act as a silent spectator.

Medical negligence and violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) are just the tip of the iceberg. I have witnessed women undergoing delivery in operation theatres where ward boys were freely roaming about in a public-sector hospital in Lahore.

The PHC should be asked to play its due role, and appoint hospital medical superintendents and health managers strictly on merit. They should preferably be non-doctors for the sake of account-ability in the healthcare system. Without taking concrete steps, the situation will not change merely with empty rhetoric.

Dr Farooq Bashir Butt
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026