MIANWALI: A decision by the Punjab health department regarding relocation of 450-bed District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital to the newly-built 200-bed Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) on the city’s outskirts has been disapproved by the residents of Mianwali.

The move has triggered public backlash, protests and road blockades because the 200-bed facility cannot accommodate the 450-bed influx, leaving indoor patients without beds and disrupting the vital TB ward. Making matters worse, the MCH’s central air conditioning system has not been working since long, forcing officials to remove AC units from the old building.

Locals allege that this logistically impossible merger was engineered out of political rivalry to rename the MCH, built by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, to the DHQ Hospital.

However, some sources say Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had announced a medical college in Mianwali and the DHQ Hospital building would be used for the college that also needs a teaching hospital. However, there are no confirmed reports in this regard.

The relocation was executed with such extreme secrecy that no written official orders exist at either the district health or deputy commissioner offices.

According to sources, the Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education secretary and other officials recently inspected the buildings of the DHQ Hospital and Diagnostic Trauma Centre buildings and found them suitable for establishing the Maryam Nawaz Medical College, Mianwali.

The old hospital building would be used for academic facilities, laboratories and administration while the Trauma Centre would serve as a hostel.

This relocation is particularly scandalous because DHQ building was extended with half of its portion shifted to its new building of diagnostic centre in 2017, having new facilities like the Burns Unit, TB Ward etc, was working successfully. The building was thoroughly revamped during the 2025-26 with nearly Rs300 million with state-of-the-art alteration in its various wards. Furthermore, another 200-bed Cardiac and Neurology Hospital under DHQ extension project was initiated by the PTI government with an estimated cost of more than Rs1bn in the DHQ vicinity and it had also been left abandoned after 30% work done at the cost of Rs140m.

It is interesting to note that while talking to Dawn, all prominent local politicians of the district across party lines, including those belonging to the PML-N, have condemned the move, urging the chief minister to reverse the decision.

When contacted, PTI MNA Jamal Ahsan Khan told Dawn that he would demand restoration of the Mother & Child Hospital in its original condition to serve its original purpose and urge reversal of the decision of relocation of the DHQ Hospital.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026