Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore, a federally administered healthcare facility, is facing an acute shortage of senior faculty, severely affecting patient care and day-to-day hospital affairs, 24NewsHD TV reported on Saturday.
According to insiders, several key medical departments at the state-of-the-art hospital have remained without professors for an extended period.
Critical specialities, including Orthopaedics, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nephrology, Paediatric Medicine, and Rheumatology, are currently operating without permanent professors.
In addition, professorial positions in Psychiatry, ENT, Urology, and Anaesthesia also remain vacant, while the post of a senior professor in the general surgery department has yet to be filled.
The insiders revealed that the prolonged absence of senior faculty members has drastically undermined both treatment standards and academic supervision, leading to a sharp decline in the quality of healthcare services.
As a direct consequence, nearly 50 per cent of the hospital’s beds are lying vacant, an alarming indicator for a facility once considered among the provincial capital’s leading treatment centres.
Patients, disillusioned by the lack of specialist availability, are increasingly avoiding the hospital and seeking treatment elsewhere.
Medical staff warned that junior doctors are being left without proper guidance, further compounding the crisis.
Despite the deteriorating situation, the federal government has been accused of negligence in addressing the worsening state of the hospital.
Health experts stressed that immediate intervention is required to restore Sheikh Zayed Hospital’s stature and prevent further damage to a vital public healthcare institution meant to serve thousands of patients from across the country.
Reporter: Zahid Chaudhry