• Patients with over 50pc burns are routinely transferred from Liaquat University Hospital to Karachi
• Health secretary informed of lack of burns unit, but to no avail, says LUH doctor
• Even regular ICUs remain overburdened due to shortage of equipment, trained staff
HYDERABAD: Despite multiple deadly fire and explosion incidents in recent years, Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Hyderabad, Sindh’s second-largest tertiary care facility, continues to operate without a dedicated burns Intensive Care Unit (ICU), even though it was part of the original project.
The hospital’s other ICUs are also burdened by a shortage of equipment and trained staff. The existing conditions at the hospital are, therefore, dire for patients requiring critical care.
Hyderabad has faced three major fire and explosion tragedies since 2022, during which more than 40 people have lost their lives. In the most recent incident, an explosion at a fireworks factory on Nov 15, 2025, 10 people have died so far, once again exposing LUH’s deficiencies.
Patients with over 50pc burns are routinely transferred from Liaquat University Hospital to Karachi
Two critically injured patients with severe burns had to be shifted to Karachi, where they later died due to severe organ damage, according to doctors at LUH and the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. Even during past incidents, burn patients have been routinely transferred to Karachi during emergencies.
A city of around three million people, Hyderabad also receives patients from several districts of lower and upper Sindh areas, where specialised facilities are unavailable. Doctors at LUH admit that they become “panicked” while responding to burn emergencies. On Nov 15, an Additional Medical Superintendent even declared a blast victim dead in front of the media while he was still alive, later correcting the statement.
The burns ward, which is a result of 2016–17 PC-I, lacks basic machinery and equipment. Hospital sources claimed that its machinery and equipment were not procured because those were “apparently not made part of the Schedule of New Expenditures (SNE).”
The condition is so dire that its registrar, Dr Roshan Chandio, who is also the president of Young Doctors Association Sindh, made an emotional appeal on social media, and urged philanthropists and Hyderabad’s residents to “come forward and donate” instead of simply criticising the government.
“You are talking about a burns ICU, but we can barely run the ICUs for surgery and medicine because we don’t have technical staff,” a frustrated LUH doctor told Dawn on condition of anonymity. “Every health secretary, including the current one, has been informed, but no one takes it seriously. Human lives simply don’t seem to matter.”
Although a separate ICU was included in LUH’s new four-storey building, it never became functional. Instead, a high-dependency unit (HDU) was created, but it can only handle patients with minor burns. Those with burns over 50 percent are routinely referred to Karachi. “Even managing the HDU is difficult. We need trained staff, sanitary workers and security,” said a hospital worker.
Dr Chandio said that he and his colleagues are personally paying the salary of one dresser and a security guard. He urged people to help develop the burns ward along the lines of the Burns Centre at Karachi’s Civil Hospital. He added that LUH’s lab cannot provide all the required tests free of cost and crowd control remains a major issue.
After the May 30, 2024 incident, the health department had formed a committee to look into the missing burns ICU, but no progress has been made. “I took charge recently and was told a committee existed, but no one knows what happened afterwards,” said Medical Superintendent Dr Ershad Kazmi.
Staff at the burns ward say they need at least three doctors in the morning and two each in the evening and night shifts along with trained technicians for a functional ICU. Even a shower trolley cannot be used because the staff are not trained. Overall, LUH ICUs require 20 respiratory therapists, 60 technicians, and 50 nurses, none of whom are currently available.
ICU staff also shared that burn patients have very specific needs, and keeping them in a general medical ICU risks dangerous infections. The burns ICU requires separate cubicles for each patient, unlike standard ICUs. The hospital plans to convert the HDU into an ICU, but staff warn that this will not be adequate.
Dr Kazmi emphasised that the burns ICU needs a proper heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to prevent the spread of harmful microorganisms. “Without proper ventilation, infections can become life-threatening for both patients and staff,” he said.
Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025.