Dow Hospital receives SHCC regular licence

SHCC chief says quality standards must be sustained; recent HIV episode underscores importance of infection control

IV Report

KARACHI: Dow University Hospital has been awarded a Regular Licence by the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC), with officials of both institutions describing it as the first public-sector general hospital in Sindh to achieve the recognition for meeting the commission's prescribed standards for quality, patient safety and regulatory compliance.

The licence was presented by SHCC Chief Executive Officer Dr Ahsan Qavi at a ceremony held at the Abdul Qadeer Khan Auditorium of Dow International Medical College's Ojha Campus. The event was attended by DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Nazli Hossain, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Jehan Ara Hassan, Prof Sajida Qureshi and Prof Zahid Azam, faculty members and SHCC officials.

Presenting the licence to Prof Jehan Ara Hassan, Dr Qavi said the award represented the beginning of a greater responsibility rather than the culmination of an exercise, stressing that healthcare quality could only be maintained through continuous improvement, institutional commitment and adherence to regulatory standards.

He said the recognition should serve as an example for other government-run hospitals seeking to strengthen quality assurance systems. With patients becoming increasingly aware of their rights, he said, healthcare providers must attach equal importance to effective communication, proper documentation and informed consent alongside high standards of clinical care.

Dr Qavi said quality in healthcare was achieved through planning, discipline and sustained effort rather than by chance. He emphasised that patient communication, patients' rights, infection prevention and control, quality documentation and accountability should form an integral part of both medical education and healthcare delivery to strengthen public confidence in health services.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Nazli Hossain said maintaining quality required continuous self-assessment, regular audits, periodic review of institutional policies and an effective grievance redressal mechanism. She said patient complaints should be viewed as opportunities to identify weaknesses and improve institutional performance rather than as a burden.

She said DUHS had integrated practical training in patient communication, informed consent, medical documentation, interprofessional care and artificial intelligence into its curriculum, making successful completion of these modules mandatory for medical students.

Prof Jehan Ara Hassan said the hospital's transition from a provisional to a Regular Licence reflected a sustained institutional effort to establish a comprehensive quality management system. She said the achievement had been made possible through teamwork, continuous review of practices and the collective commitment of clinical, nursing, administrative and support staff.

Comments on HIV episode

Referring to recent reports of HIV transmission allegedly linked to the reuse of syringes at a hospital in Karachi's SITE area, Dr Ahsan Qavi said the episode underscored the critical importance of infection prevention and control, ethical medical practice and professional accountability. According to a DUHS press release, he also remarked that it was "difficult to comprehend" who was administering used syringes to children, while stressing that sustaining quality in healthcare ultimately depended on both individual responsibility and robust institutional systems.

Photos courtesy: DUHS