Punjab to deploy 453 locum doctors amid health emergency

LAHORE:In response to the current emergency situation, the Punjab government has approved the temporary deployment of 453 doctors in teaching hospitals across 10 major cities of the province under a fast-track locum arrangement.

According to an official communiqué issued by the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department (SHC&MED) on Wednesday, the recruitment will be facilitated through the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore. The temporary positions include Medical Officers (MOs), Women Medical Officers (WMOs), Senior Registrars, and Consultants.

In the initial phase, 390 MOs and WMOs along with 63 Senior Registrars and Consultants will be placed at teaching hospitals in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Sialkot, Narowal and Rahim Yar Khan.

The letter addressed to the UHS Vice Chancellor states that the move is aimed at ensuring that a sufficient number of doctors are available to tackle the current situation. UHS has already launched an online registration portal on the directions of SHC&MED, with nearly 4,000 doctors signing up within a week. UHS will screen candidates for eligibility and deploy them accordingly.

Doctors hired under the locum programme will receive daily stipends—Rs8,000 for MOs and Rs10,000 for Senior Registrars and Consultants—for an eight-hour shift. Payments will be performance-based and linked to biometric attendance, with funds routed through UHS by the health department.

The appointments will initially last one month, with extensions subject to future need. Government employees and postgraduate trainees are ineligible, while private-sector doctors may join with a No Objection Certificate from their employers.

Upon deployment, doctors will report directly to the Medical Superintendent (MS) of their assigned hospital with their documentation. Honoraria will be transferred directly to their bank accounts. Doctors intending to leave their post early must notify the hospital at least two days in advance.