Punjab to deploy 205 security guards at 41 sub-divisional hospitals
The state's health department has launched the second phase of its hospital security plan, placing five guards at each sub-divisional hospital to protect staff and patients.
Punjab's Health Department has started the second phase of its hospital security framework, beginning the process to recruit 205 guards for the state's 41 sub-divisional hospitals (SDHs). The arithmetic is simple: five guards will be posted at each facility, giving every SDH a fixed security presence.
The push follows a run of violence, intimidation and disorderly conduct by attendants and members of the public inside government hospitals. For months, government doctors have been asking for round-the-clock protection, arguing that they cannot give patients proper care when they fear for their own safety.
The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) has been among the loudest voices on the issue. Its position is that a secure workplace is a precondition for doctors and paramedical staff to work without interruption, and the association says the new deployment should discourage trouble before it starts and steady the nerves of frontline workers.
The hiring will run through the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO), which is well placed to supply trained, disciplined personnel for this kind of work. Funding has been split to suit each hospital's finances. The Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) will cover the cost for 34 SDHs that lack sufficient funds. The remaining seven, which hold user-charge balances above Rs 1 crore, will pay from their own reserves under the supervision of their senior medical officers.
This is not a standalone decision. In the first phase, the department approved 200 guards for all district hospitals last year. Extending the model to SDHs means the state now has a layered approach across its larger and mid-sized facilities, which the government hopes will make both staff and patients safer and protect hospital property.
For patients in smaller towns, who often depend on SDHs as their first point of care, the practical test will be whether the guards are actually posted and sustained over time. Read more at The Tribune.