LAHORE: Admissions to the Dermatology Department of Nishtar Hospital have plunged by 93.5pc in two years, with only 37 patients admitted in 2025 against 568 in 2023, raising concerns about inpatient services, public-sector resource utilisation and postgraduate medical training at a major tertiary-care hospital serving south Punjab.
Official record available with Dawn shows that 220 patients were admitted to the department in 2024, compared with 568 in 2023. The number further dropped to 37 in 2025, a decline of approximately 93.5pc in two years.
The monthly figures for 2025 show that seven months -- April, May, August, September, October, November and December -- recorded no inpatient admissions. Only one patient was admitted each in June and July.
Postgraduate trainee doctors, speaking to Dawn on condition of anonymity, said the Dermatology Department had an important responsibility to provide specialist inpatient care to patients requiring hospitalisation.
Only 37 admitted to hospital in 2025 against 568 in 2023; concern over quality of postgraduate training
They said the extraordinary decline raised a fundamental question: where are patients requiring specialist dermatological inpatient care being assessed and managed?
They said the hospital should examine its outpatient, emergency, referral and admission record to determine whether such patients were being managed elsewhere or whether they are not being admitted despite requiring inpatient care.
The trainees also questioned the utilisation of public-sector resources, including allocated beds, nursing staff, doctors and other hospital facilities. A dedicated tertiary-care ward remaining virtually without admitted patients for prolonged periods, they said, required an explanation and a formal review.
The decline prompted the Medical Superintendent of Nishtar Hospital to seek an inquiry from the Director Postgraduate Training at Nishtar Medical University (NMU), citing concerns about the impact of reduced patient flow on postgraduate training.
In a letter dated Aug 11, 2026, issued in continuation of an earlier communication dated Nov 29, 2025, the MS said adequate patient flow was essential for clinical exposure and skill development. The MS sought an inquiry to determine the reasons behind the decline and called for responsibility to be fixed where necessary.
The trainee doctors said the matter directly concerned postgraduate medical education, as dermatology trainees required exposure to a range of clinical cases, including patients needing inpatient management. Extremely low inpatient activity could substantially restrict their clinical exposure and practical training.
They said the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s postgraduate training standards required clinical training sites to have sufficient patients and an appropriate case mix, with adequate inpatient and outpatient clinical experience. The department’s patient exposure and training capacity, therefore, merited a formal assessment.
Talking to Dawn, NMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mehnaz Khakwani said the dermatology ward was undergoing revamp the period in question.
The explanation points to renovation work as a factor behind the reduced admissions. However, the duration of the revamp, its impact on the ward’s operational capacity and the arrangements made for patients during the work were not specified.
The trainee doctors said the matter had already been formally raised by the Medical Superintendent, whose official correspondence stated that declining admissions were adversely affecting the postgraduate training programme and requested a proper inquiry, identification of the underlying causes and fixation of responsibility where necessary.
They said the university administration should explain what concrete action had been taken after the MS raised the matter through official correspondence on two occasions, including the earlier letter dated Nov 29, 2025, and the subsequent letter dated Aug 11, 2026.
They demanded an independent inquiry to determine why admissions fell from 568 to 37, where patients requiring inpatient dermatological care were managed, how the department’s resources were utilised and whether postgraduate trainees received adequate clinical exposure.
Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2026
