LAHORE: The Punjab Health & Population Department (PH&PD) has initiated the process of procuring 32-slice CT scan machines for 24 DHQ hospitals across the province at a cost of Rs1,834.7 million (Rs1.83 billion) amid certain serious observations raised by the Planning & Development (P&D) Board.
An interesting part of the development is that the procurement is being made for the 24 designated hospitals which are already equipped with the same scanners and have been providing 24/7 services to patients for the last eight years or so.
According to official documents, the Punjab government, in 2017, had adopted a PPP/pay-per-scan model for CT scanning services when it found out that the in-house machines were facing high downtime and costly maintenance besides declining patient service.
The then government had outsourced the sites of the above-mentioned health facilities to a private firm and signed an agreement accordingly.
24 designated DHQ hospitals are already equipped with machines; secretary says project will ensure care under one roof, reduce outsourcing cost
Since then, the hospitals had been delivering services 24/7 for outdoor, emergency and indoor patients with an average of 600 scans per month per site at a cost of Rs4,700 per scan.
Contrary to these facts, the PH&PD advertised recently the framework contract for the procurement and installation of the new 32-slice CT scanners parallel to the existing system besides ignoring certain guidelines approved by the P&D Board in June 2026.
The documents say during a high-level meeting held on June 6, 2026, the P&D Board had held detailed deliberations on the said mega health scheme and granted approval to execute the project titled “Provision of CT scan machines in 24 DHQ hospitals across Punjab with a gestation period up to December 30, 2027”, but made it conditional with the minutes of the meeting approved at the same time.
PH&PD Secretary Nadia Saquib had also participated in the meeting besides board’s senior officers.
According to the minutes of the meeting provided to Dawn, the board had declared that the 32-slice CT Scan machines would be insufficient for the cardiac patients.
The board had directed the health department that the proposed scanners must be suitable for the planned cardiology and cardiac-surgery services at DHQ hospitals.
As per the documents, the dedicated cardiac CT normally required at least a 64-slice configuration, while the subsequent tender was for standard 32-slice scanners.
The board also directed the health department to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the proposed systems while the cost of skilled staffing and post-warranty maintenance contracts was not accounted for by the health officials in the budget proposed by them.
“A member had pointed out in the meeting that the government is establishing cardiology and cardiac surgery units in the DHQ hospitals which required CT scan machines with 256 or higher slices specifications,” reads the document.
The board also referred a case of the specialised healthcare & medical education department stating that the department had recently procured CT scan machines of 512 or higher slices.
However, the health department secretary declared 32-slice machines sufficient for current and future requirements, saying these would cater to needs of patients for the next 15-20 years.
Another conflicting point raised the eyebrows of the meeting participants when the board was informed by the health secretary that the private firm’s existing contracts would expire in June 2027 and that the existing outsourced systems were 16-slice.
While the contractual and technical record reflected a different position: the fleet had already been upgraded to 32-slice at PH&PD’s direction in 2025, and the extension agreements were valid through December 2028, 2029 and 2030.
On seeking clarification on the business model of the existing outsourced CT scan facilities compared to the proposed in-house model, the secretary health informed the board that under the proposed in-house model patients would not be charged for CT scan services.
Objecting to her proposal, the board observed that eliminating patient charges could result in undue pressure and overcrowding at DHQ hospitals.
“The board directed the administrative department to consider maintaining patient charges at the existing rate under the proposed model to ensure service sustainability,” reads the document.
The P&D board also suggested her to establish a robust repair and maintenance system to ensure efficient operation and long-term sustainability of the facilities.
Granting approval to the minutes of the meeting, the board had declared that the health & population department shall notify the approved specification for CT scan before execution of the project.
The board stated that the department shall also incorporate detailed estimates and specifications of the minor civil work in the PC-I, ensure all skilled and trained staff for the smooth 24/7 functioning of the facility, and shall ensure that proposed CT scan machines are suitable for use in cardiology and cardiac surgery units.
When contacted, Secretary Nadia Saquib said at present emergency services are spread across different hospital units, so accident and trauma patients must be shifted from one place to another for CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, laboratory tests, blood, specialist review and surgery. “The delay wastes time, therefore, emergency, trauma and accident services should be provided under one roof for faster life-saving care.”
The health secretary said the procurement of 32-slice CT scan machines has been initiated for the hospitals’ emergencies.
Self-procurement will ensure reliable 24/7 emergency diagnostics, government ownership of assets, better uptime and faster support for trauma and accident patients, while reducing long-term outsourcing costs, she said.
“The existing CT scan equipment being replaced was installed in 2017-18 under an outsourcing model. Annual expenditure on outsourcing is Rs1,100m with seven per cent fiscal year increment cost,” says the secretary.
So the new model will reduce unnecessary movement of critical patients, speed up diagnosis and surgery, improve coordination and accountability, and deliver better outcomes in trauma, cardiac, stroke, obstetric and other emergencies.
The health secretary said equipment supplies for modular operation theatres and blood bank equipment are under process for DHQ hospitals.
She further said the emergency set-up will include triage and red/yellow/green patient flow, resuscitation bays with essential emergency equipment, dedicated emergency diagnostic corridor for CT scanning, X-ray, ultrasound and pathology laboratory sampling/testing, emergency blood access with cross match & massive transfusion readiness, modular operation theatre support for urgent trauma surgery, digitised emergency register and dashboard and, hospital-level emergency quality review for deaths, delays and referred cases.
She says the yearly outsourcing cost is more than the new machines’ cost.
All DHQs will be equipped with latest Cath labs; Cannon and Siemens during this year for both angiography and angioplasty.
“All DHQs already have requisite staff. Posts available can also be filled on special pay package,” concluded the secretary.
Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2026
