Islamabad: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that running hospitals is not the government’s primary responsibility and that the management of public health facilities should be shifted to alternate models such as public-private partnerships to improve efficiency and patient care.
“Hospitals are not meant to be run by the government. With Rs 24 billion, we can treat half of Sindh and all of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir free of cost through health insurance,” he told the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on Tuesday.
He maintained an Infectious Diseases Hospital in Islamabad, lying non-functional for three years, would soon be handed over to a private partner under a public-private partnership model.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, was attended by Senators Anusha Rehman Ahmad Khan, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Muhammad Humayun Mohmand, Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, and others, along with senior officials of the health ministry.
Mustafa Kamal also confirmed that Sindh has not yet introduced the Sehat Sahulat health card facility. However, he said, “Sixteen hospitals in Sindh are already providing free treatment to patients from all provinces.” The minister added that while other provinces have adopted the health card model, Sindh has opted to finance and run its own healthcare services, including in remote areas like Tharparkar.
He told the committee that the ministry’s budget had dropped from Rs 21 billion to Rs 14 billion this year, forcing the government to manage ongoing projects within limited allocations. “No new projects have been launched this year despite proposals for 12 new ones, as no funds were released,” he said.
Senator Anusha Rehman stressed the need to extend the healthcare card to every citizen, suggesting that the Senate could allocate part of its own budget to launch the facility. “Taxpayers deserve quality healthcare. We should start the health card from the Senate’s own budget,” she said.
She criticized the administrative structure of public hospitals, saying most senior doctors occupy office positions instead of treating patients. “Hospitals are full of doctors sitting in administrative seats rather than wards. Those trained to treat patients should not be managing paperwork,” she said.
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri called for reforming doctors’ behavior and accountability, pointing out that medico-legal officers often remain absent from duty while hospitals in the capital lack basic facilities. “We need to fix the system, not just build more buildings. Patients in public hospitals deserve empathy and attention,” she remarked.
Senator Anusha Rehman also highlighted the severe overcrowding at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), saying it was originally built for 3,000 patients but now caters to nearly 10,000 a day. “PIMS is overwhelmed with patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. The government must find a workable plan to deal with the load,” she said.
Senator Humayun Mohmand criticized senior consultants for resisting the health card scheme, claiming their high private fees made them opposed to reform.
“Big-name doctors are against the health card system because it threatens their business model. Over half of them don’t even show up for duty,” he said, adding that PIMS should be handed over to a competent authority since Rs 6 billion are allocated to it annually with little visible improvement.
The committee also discussed the brain drain in Pakistan’s medical workforce. Senator Anusha Rehman said Pakistan was failing to retain doctors, with 50 to 60 percent leaving for better opportunities abroad. “We’re producing only 22,000 doctors annually, which is too few for a population of 250 million. This number should be doubled,” she said.
Mustafa Kamal agreed, adding that many female graduates quit after obtaining their degrees, further shrinking the active medical workforce. “A large number of our women doctors do not practice, and many of our trained professionals move to countries like Ireland, where they earn around 5,000 euros a month,” he noted.
The minister also complained that the health ministry is not consulted on key regulatory matters handled by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). “We’re answerable in Parliament, but we’re not taken on board by PMDC on critical decisions,” he said.
The committee recommended strengthening coordination between the health ministry, PMDC, and provincial governments to improve hospital governance, expand the healthcare card coverage, and address the growing shortage of medical professionals in Pakistan.
Ends