7.3.7. Healthcare

Regarding access to health services, the DVIP ranks Lahore second best out of 129 districts.2262 The Punjab Provincial Census Report of the 2023 Population & Housing Census states that ‘a number of government hospitals’ are located in Lahore.2263 An analysis of Punjab’s public hospital management by Gallup Pakistan for the financial year 2023-2024 showed that, out of a total of 6.05 million hospital admissions in the province, Lahore accounted for 1.07 million. This high share reflected the large population as well as the concentration of tertiary hospitals in the city.2264

According to the latest Punjab Health Statistics, there were 50 government hospitals with 13 634 beds in Lahore district. 21 of these hospitals were Teaching Hospitals as of December 2023. Furthermore, Lahore district had 107 dispensaries, 12 Rural Health Centres (RHCs), 43 Basic Care Units (BHUs), 21 Tuberculosis Clinics and 50 Maternal & Child Health Centres. In relation to the population figures of the 2023 census—Lahore had a population of approximately 13 million at that time—the population per hospital ratio was 260 083:1 and the population to hospital bed ratio was 954:1.2265 Lahore’s major government hospitals provide several specialist departments, for example Jinnah Hospital has more than 20 departments, including orthopaedic surgery, psychiatry, cardiac surgery, paediatrics and medical oncology departments.2266 Six Lahore hospitals offer HIV treatment services.2267 In addition to governmental healthcare facilities, there were 4 342 private hospitals with 20 826 beds registered in Lahore district as of December 2023.2268

In late June and early July 2025, several news sources reported that the Punjabi Universal Health Insurance named Sehat Sahulat Card Programme had been discontinued in public sector hospitals as of 30 June 20252269 to avoid overlapping coverage, because services in public hospitals had already been free of charge. The Sehat Sahulat Card would still be accepted in empanelled private hospitals but providing only limited coverage. Expensive medical treatments like transplants or heart surgeries were announced to be offered by new public health care programmes, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company.2270