Healthcare crisis deepens in Pakistan's Lahore as anaesthetist shortage brings surgeries to standstill

Lahore [Pakistan], December 6 (ANI): A severe shortage of qualified anaesthetists has plunged Lahore's leading government hospitals into disarray, forcing delays and cancellations of countless surgeries.
Major medical facilities, including Mayo, Jinnah, and Services hospitals, are among those hit hardest by the disruption, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, dozens of anaesthetists employed on short-term contracts were abruptly dismissed after their extended six-month agreements expired, leaving operating theatres severely understaffed.
The sudden removal of these essential medical professionals has crippled surgical operations, restricting hospitals to performing only life-saving procedures. Administrators revealed that they had repeatedly warned the Punjab Health Department about the impending staff crisis, urging authorities not to release locum doctors until permanent appointments were made.
However, their requests were ignored, resulting in a near collapse of routine surgical services.
Surgeons stated that elective surgeries had been suspended across the province, with emergency departments operating under extreme strain.
Patients who had been waiting months, some even over a year, for planned operations now face indefinite uncertainty. One 62-year-old woman at Mayo Hospital, awaiting gallbladder surgery, was informed that her operation could not proceed due to the lack of an anaesthetist.
Families of patients expressed anger and helplessness, saying that many admitted individuals were left idle in hospital wards for days without any updates. Doctors described a chaotic situation where operating theatre lists were being reshuffled daily, warning that the absence of trained anaesthetists posed serious risks to patient safety.
Hospital management stated that repeated pleas to the provincial health department over the past several months had gone unanswered. No emergency appointments or contract renewals were made to prevent the crisis, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Punjab Health Department spokesperson Syed Hammad Raza said the government had launched a large-scale recruitment campaign for medical staff, including anaesthesia specialists.
He maintained that the administration had hired doctors during its tenure and insisted that "doctor shortages are no longer an issue," as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)