Public teaching hospitals across Punjab are bracing for another challenging fiscal year as the provincial government has once again failed to increase the medicine budget, despite rising healthcare demands and past overspending.
In the outgoing fiscal year, the government had allocated Rs 55 billion for the procurement of medicines in public teaching hospitals.
However, actual expenditure soared to Rs 76 billion, resulting in a significant shortfall of Rs 21 billion.
Shockingly, the same amount — Rs 55 billion — has been proposed again for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 as well.
This persistent budget freeze means public hospitals will continue to struggle to meet patient needs.
Health officials warn that this continued underfunding poses a serious threat to the provision of free medicines to patients, a core component of public healthcare.
Teaching hospitals are already struggling to manage resources, and the lack of a budget increase is expected to further limit their ability to purchase essential medicines.
The situation is particularly dire at some of the province's largest healthcare facilities.
Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) has seen no increase in its budget, with a proposed allocation of Rs 1.8 billion, the same as last year.
Other allocations for major Lahore’s teaching hospitals include:
1. Children’s Hospital: Rs 1.82 billion
2. General Hospital: Rs 1.09 billion
3. Jinnah Hospital: Rs 1.02 billion
4. Mayo Hospital: Rs 1.33 billion
5. Lady Willingdon Hospital: Rs 200 million
6. Lady Aitchison Hospital: Rs 100 million
Specialized facilities and smaller hospitals have also received relatively modest allocations:
Fatima Jinnah Institute of Dental Sciences: Rs 100 million
Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Yakki Gate: Rs 250 million
Punjab Dental Hospital: Rs 450 million
Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital: Rs 360 million
• Shahdara Teaching Hospital: Rs 180 million
• Syed Mitha Hospital: Rs 300 million
• Punjab Institute of Mental Health: Rs 100 million
In South Punjab, where access to quality healthcare is already limited, budget cuts have worsened the situation.
Nishtar Hospital, Multan, the largest medical facility in the region, has seen its budget slashed by Rs 170 million, with only Rs 780 million now allocated.
Elsewhere in the province:
• Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology: Rs 900 million
• Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur: Rs 1 billion
• Allied and DHQ Hospitals, Faisalabad: Rs 1.79 billion
• Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology: Rs 1.05 billion
• Gujranwala Teaching Hospital: Rs 650 million
• Sialkot Teaching Hospital: Rs 400 million
Despite the widespread strain, not a single teaching hospital received the medicine budget it required during the current fiscal year.
Hospital administrators across the province have raised concerns that without urgent financial intervention, the ability to provide even basic healthcare — let alone free medicines — could be severely hampered in the coming months.
According to health officials, the persistent budget constraints underline a growing crisis in Punjab’s public healthcare sector, where rising patient loads, inflation, and stagnant funding have left teaching hospitals in an increasingly vulnerable position.
Reporter: Zahid Chaudhry