Hospitals face shortage of anaesthetists

Denial of extension to contractual, specialists delays surgeries

LAHORE:

The provincial capital's major government hospitals are facing a shortage of qualified anaesthetists, causing delays in surgeries.

According to sources, the hospitals have abruptly lost dozens of anaesthetists working under short-term arrangements. Their removal without an adequate replacement plan has affected the functioning of operation theatres.

The sources said the crisis in the Jinnah, Mayo and Services hospitals along with several affiliated teaching institutions had aggravated after locum anaesthesia doctors hired on one-month contracts that had been extended to six months were dismissed after their extended contracts expired.

Hospital administrators said they had alerted the Punjab health authorities about the approaching shortage and requested that the locum staff not be released until permanent inductions were completed.

Surgeons said operation theatre schedules had shrunk within days, elective lists had been stopped and emergency blocks limited to handling only life saving cases.

The sources said patients who had waited for months, in some cases more than a year, for planned surgeries were now uncertain when their treatment would take place.

A 62-year-old patient awaiting gallbladder surgery at Mayo Hospital was told her procedure could not proceed due to the unavailability of an anaesthetist.

Families of patients said their surgeries had been delayed by several weeks with uncertainty persisting regarding the new dates.

They said patients admitted for assessment ahead of surgeries remained in beds for days without progress.

Doctors described operation theatre lists being reshuffled daily because of limited capacity. They warned that the presence of trained anaesthetists during surgeries was must for the safety of patients.

Hospital management officials said they had cautioned the health department over the past several months that a disruption of operations was imminent. However, no emergency postings, contract renewals or redeployment of specialists was carried out.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Health Department spokesperson Syed Hammad Raza said the provincial government had launched a large-scale recruitment drive for doctors, including anaesthesia specialists, across Punjab—particularly for newly constructed hospitals.

He said the current government had hired a record number of doctors during its tenure, adding that "doctor shortages are no longer an issue in hospitals."

Raza said the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department was making every effort to ensure that staffing levels remained adequate in all public hospitals, in line with the Punjab government's vision for improved healthcare services.