Court deadline for end of slip counters
Punjab’s health administration has pledged before the Lahore High Court to shut down the familiar hospital “parchi” — the paper registration slip collected at counters — in every government hospital in the province inside four weeks. The aim, officials said, is faster care and shorter waits for people seeking treatment.
Special Secretary (Health) Nabila Irfan gave that commitment to Justice Malik Javid Iqbal Wains on Friday while a public-interest case brought by the Judicial Activism Panel was under hearing. She said people arriving for emergencies or routine outpatient visits would receive attention without first lining up for a slip at a designated desk.
One account of the same sitting also describes the bench as ordering the province to dismantle the patient-slip practice on that timetable and to put in place a workable way to manage arrivals so examinations and treatment are not held up.
What officials promised next
Counsel for the health side told the court the department intends to roll out a modern, computer-based system for handling patients, meant to smooth check-ups and cut crowding and delay at counters. The special secretary, appearing for the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department’s secretary, asked for more time to file a full brief on how adequate and well-equipped public hospital services are across Punjab.
The bench accepted the pledge, fixed four weeks for the reforms to take effect, and required a thorough compliance filing with supporting papers at the following date. Every respondent must also file reports answering the petition’s complaints and listing steps taken to secure essential care in public facilities. Further hearing was put off for six weeks.
Why the bench pressed harder
Judges voiced sharp unease that authorities had still not filed the compliance papers demanded in repeated notices since the case began in 2020. Justice Wains remarked that the pattern looked like a casual, dismissive approach to legal and constitutional duties.
The petition asks the court to uphold basic rights under Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution — rules on equality before the law and the security of person — and to follow higher-court rulings on essential services in government hospitals. The court cautioned that more unjustified defiance could bring proceedings against the officials responsible.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 2020: Judicial Activism Panel files the public-interest petition on care in Punjab’s government hospitals.
- 2020 onward: The court issues repeated notices and directions seeking compliance reports; those filings remain outstanding, the bench said.
- Friday, 30 October 2026: Nabila Irfan undertakes to end the parchi process province-wide in four weeks and describes a tech-based patient system; the court sets that deadline, demands evidence-backed reports, and warns of consequences for further delay.
- Within four weeks of the hearing: Deadline for removing slip counters and putting the promised reforms into practice.
- Six weeks after the hearing: Next sitting, when detailed compliance material is due.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Punjab ke sarkari hospitalon mein parchi ka silsila char hafton mein band hone wala hai. Ab emergency ya outdoor ke liye pehle counter se slip lene ki zarurat nahi hogi, hukkam ne court ko bataya. Court ne yeh waada mante hue reform ke liye char hafte ka waqt diya hai. Agar aap sarkari hospital jate hain, to intezar kam hone ki ummeed hai — lekin asal tabdeeli compliance ke baad dikhegi.
