Over 1,470 health posts vacant in Islamabad hospitals

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s public healthcare system is facing a serious staffing shortage, with more than 1,470 sanctioned positions for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff lying vacant across four major federal health facilities.

The shortage has raised concerns about the capacity of public hospitals to provide timely treatment, manage emergencies and maintain adequate patient care.

Sources familiar with the situation told Minute Mirror that the vacancies have existed for some time and that senior officials had previously been informed about the staffing gaps.

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has the largest shortage. Out of 2,451 sanctioned positions, 949 are currently vacant. These include 385 positions for doctors and clinicians, 363 for nurses and 201 for paramedical staff.

At the Polyclinic Hospital Islamabad, 439 positions remain vacant against a sanctioned strength of 1,132. The vacancies include 290 doctors and clinicians, 45 nurses and 104 paramedical staff.

The National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) has 29 vacant positions out of 161 sanctioned posts, while the Federal General Hospital Islamabad has more than 57 vacancies against 212 sanctioned positions.

Health experts warn that such shortages increase the workload on existing employees and can affect patient care, emergency response and the overall efficiency of hospitals.

PIMS fire brings crisis into focus

The staffing crisis has come under renewed scrutiny following a fire that broke out in the nursery of the PIMS Mother and Child Health Ward on August 26.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and directed Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal to reach Islamabad, visit PIMS and assess the situation. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the health minister had also been directed to submit a report on the incident.

The prime minister also ordered the formation of a high-powered investigation team to determine the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Separately, the Establishment Division suspended National Health Services Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri for 120 days. Capt. (Retd.) Muhammad Mahmood, Secretary Housing and Works, was assigned additional charge of the Health Secretary for three months.

The developments have renewed questions about whether repeated warnings regarding shortages and administrative weaknesses were acted upon before the incident.

A senior government officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that concerned ministers, ministry secretaries and other officials had previously been informed about the staffing shortages and warned about the risks associated with them.

According to the officer, the warnings did not receive the attention they required, and the issue was not treated as a priority.

The officer also claimed that failures in hospital management can result in not only risks to patients but also financial losses to the public exchequer through damage to equipment, infrastructure and buildings.

The latest incident has also revived criticism of a recurring administrative pattern in which suspensions, transfers and inquiry committees are announced after an incident rather than preventive measures being taken beforehand.

Despite the scale of the vacancies, officials have yet to announce a clear timeline for filling the vacant positions.

The situation has left a key question unanswered: whether the government will take sustained measures to address Islamabad’s hospital staffing crisis or whether action will continue only after serious incidents occur.