The Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has been allocated Rs 150 million in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. Despite the facility’s role as a primary referral point for high-risk pregnancies in the federal capital, the funding remains largely unchanged from the previous year’s revised estimates.
The allocation covers operational costs, including the procurement of essential medicines and the maintenance of diagnostic equipment. However, hospital administrators warn that this figure barely accounts for the inflationary pressure on medical supplies and the rising cost of utilities.
“We are managing with the bare minimum,” said a senior official at the PIMS administration. “The surge in patient load from Islamabad and the surrounding districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has pushed our resources to the limit.”
The MCH Centre currently handles an average of 40 to 60 deliveries daily, with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) operating at 120% capacity throughout the year. With only a fixed budget, the hospital is forced to prioritize emergency surgeries while deferring non-urgent care, creating a backlog that often stretches for months.
Health policy analysts point to a chronic disconnect between fiscal planning and patient demand. While the government emphasizes the expansion of mother-child healthcare, the actual budget lines suggest a strategy of maintenance rather than growth.
Public health experts argue that without an increase in the recurring budget to cover the rising costs of imported surgical kits and oxygen supply, the quality of care will continue to face strain. For the thousands of families relying on PIMS, the budget isn’t just a set of figures—it’s a gauge of whether the facility will have the resources to keep its doors open when the next emergency arrives.
