Lahore: The Punjab government has prohibited the use of mobile phones by hospital staff under BPS-18 degree during service hours in all hospitals in the public sector in the province, while the use of Emergency Communication pagers is mandatory.
The decision, explained in two separate circulars issued on July 7, 2025, by the specialized Health Care and Medical Education department, is intended to strengthen emergency aid mechanisms and to improve patient care in medical provisions run by the government.
The first circular instructs all healthcare institutions to implement a pager system to guarantee fast and uninterrupted communication during critical situations.
“Pagers help ensure that critical warnings – such as code blue and code red – are immediately received and answered,” it says. All hospitals under the jurisdiction of the department have been instructed to guarantee strict compliance.
In the meantime, the second guideline prohibits the use of mobile phones during service hours by all hospital staff under BPS-18 in emergency situations, ICUs, NICUs and Operation Theaters.
Exceptions apply to senior administrative officers such as medical superintendents, additional and deputy medical superintendents, senior registrars and directors. The guideline warns that the frequent and unnecessary use of mobile phones disturbed patient care and hospital activities.
Medical superintendents and department heads have been given the task of maintaining the ban, to monitor the behavior of staff and to submit compliance reports within three days.
In addition, the circulars emphasize the need to guarantee a robust and responsive emergency system and mandate compliance with SOPs by students of nursing, especially in procedures such as IV injections.
The guidelines are spread to all medical universities in the public sector, colleges, specialized institutions and the teaching of hospitals in Punjab. Copies have also been forwarded to the secretariat of the Chief Minister, the Minister of Health and the relevant department heads.
