Philanthropist-funded neonatal unit lies idle at Nishtar

Health department's 'apathy' blamed for stalling project

MULTAN:

The project to establish a 60-bed neonatology ward at Nishtar Hospital has stalled due to what doctors describe as continued apathy by the health department, despite a growing influx of critically ill newborns from Multan and across South Punjab.

According to hospital sources, the fully constructed neonatology unit, built with the financial support of philanthropists in the basement of Paediatric Ward 19, has remained non-functional throughout 2025 owing to the non-recruitment of staff.

The situation has persisted despite repeated warnings from medical professionals that neonatal care facilities at Nishtar Hospital are under severe strain.

Official data reveal that around 70% of newborn patients in Multan were brought to Nishtar Hospital for treatment during the current year. However, despite this overwhelming patient load, neither has the neonatology ward been made operational nor has the required staff been recruited.

The practice of referring newborns from government hospitals across Multan and South Punjab to Nishtar has further aggravated the crisis.

Sources said the Summary of New Expenditure (SNE) for the recruitment of 159 staff members for the neonatology unit has been pending approval with the secretariat since 2019.

Over time, the proposal was shelved due to official neglect.

Even a partial SNE for the first phase, under which 19 staff members were to be recruited, has seen no progress to date.

An earlier attempt to make the unit operational without adequate staffing in early 2020 also failed.

Meanwhile, Nishtar Hospital's paediatric medicine wards continue to shoulder an extraordinary burden. With only one specialist neonatologist and two to three medical officers available, doctors say it is impossible to provide optimal care to critically ill newborns.

Alarmingly, several incubators in the paediatric medicine wards are reportedly non-functional, further compromising neonatal treatment.

Speaking on the issue, representatives of the Young Doctors Association (YDA), including Dr Shehzad Malana and Dr Mian Khizar, criticised the provincial government for failing to operationalise the neonatology unit despite the complete infrastructure being in place.