AKUH off-campus hospitals reaffirm global excellence with SafeCare Level 5 Certification

AKUH off-campus hospitals secure SafeCare Level 5, setting a new benchmark for patient safety in Pakistan

KARACHI: The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has once again demonstrated why it is regarded as a cornerstone of quality healthcare in Pakistan. All four of its off-campus hospitals, Garden, Karimabad, Kharadar, and Hyderabad, have successfully retained SafeCare Level 5 certification, the highest recognition awarded under the internationally respected SafeCare healthcare quality framework.

What makes this achievement particularly notable is not just the certification itself, but the exceptional audit scores ranging between 96 and 98 percent, placing these facilities among the top-performing hospitals globally assessed under the SafeCare programme.

What is SafeCare Level 5 and who awards it?

SafeCare is an international healthcare quality improvement and certification programme developed by the PharmAccess Foundation, a Netherlands-based global health organization working to strengthen healthcare systems across Africa and Asia. The programme is implemented in collaboration with internationally recognized accreditation and quality-assurance bodies, including Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA).

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SafeCare evaluates hospitals across hundreds of indicators, covering:

• Patient safety systems
• Clinical governance
• Infection prevention and control
• Medication safety
• Infrastructure and equipment
• Emergency preparedness
• Leadership and quality management

Level 5 represents the highest maturity level, indicating that a healthcare facility meets — and often exceeds — international best-practice standards comparable to leading hospitals in high-income countries.

Exceeding global benchmarks, not just meeting them

During this year’s audit cycle, AKUH’s off-campus hospitals did not merely maintain compliance. They outperformed expectations, achieving scores that reflect deep institutional maturity, robust clinical systems, and a culture where patient safety is embedded at every level of care delivery.

Such scores are rarely achieved consistently across multiple sites, particularly in resource-constrained healthcare environments — making AKUH’s performance a significant milestone for Pakistan’s healthcare sector.

Why this natters for patients

For patients and families, SafeCare Level 5 certification translates into tangible outcomes:

• Safer clinical procedures
• Lower risk of hospital-acquired infections
• Stronger medication safety protocols
• Better emergency response systems
• Transparent governance and accountability

In an era where patient trust is closely tied to measurable quality, AKUH’s continued performance reinforces its reputation as a trusted provider of tertiary and secondary care, not just in Karachi but across the region.

A testament to teams on the ground

Behind this achievement is the sustained effort of clinical teams, nurses, quality officers, biomedical engineers, and hospital leadership, whose daily commitment ensures that standards are not only maintained for audits but practiced consistently in real-world patient care.

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AKUH’s ability to uphold such standards across multiple off-campus hospitals reflects a system-wide culture of quality, rather than isolated excellence.

Raising the bar for healthcare in Pakistan

As Pakistan continues to navigate complex healthcare challenges, achievements like this signal what is possible when global frameworks, local expertise, and institutional commitment align.

AKUH’s SafeCare Level 5 re-certification does more than validate its own systems — it raises expectations for hospital care nationwide, reinforcing that internationally benchmarked patient safety is achievable within Pakistan.

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