LAHORE: The Punjab Health and Population Department has stopped issuing no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the transfer and posting of doctors, leaving hundreds of doctors who were awaiting transfers in limbo, according to sources.
The ban has been imposed even though a number of posts for doctors are lying vacant in the health department, the sources said.
A letter on the matter has been issued to the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Health of all districts and to the medical superintendents (MSs) of district headquarters (DHQ) and tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospitals.
The letter directs that no doctor be issued an NOC for a transfer or posting. It further warns that action will be taken against any MS or CEO Health who issues an NOC in violation of the directive.
In the public health system, a doctor seeking a transfer to another hospital, district or programme generally needs an NOC from the head of their current institution or district health authority, confirming that the facility has no objection to releasing them. Without it, a transfer or new posting cannot usually be processed, even if a vacancy exists at the receiving end.
By barring MSs and CEOs from issuing these certificates, the department has effectively paused the movement of doctors through this route across the province.
According to sources, hundreds of doctors who had been waiting for transfers have been affected. Doctors seek transfers for a range of reasons: to be closer to their families, to move from remote postings to facilities near training institutions, to join postgraduate training, or to take up positions matching their specialisation. Many doctors posted in far-flung districts or tehsils see a transfer as the only way to balance service with family responsibilities or career progression.
The decision raises an apparent contradiction. According to sources, many posts for doctors in the department are vacant, yet those willing to fill them through transfers cannot move without an NOC.
One possible effect of the freeze is to keep doctors in place at facilities that would otherwise lose staff, preventing gaps in hospitals already short of doctors. But the letter, as described by sources, does not state the reason for the ban, and the department has not publicly explained whether the measure is temporary or linked to a wider review of postings.
Several points remain unclear: whether the ban applies to all categories of doctors or only certain cadres, whether exceptions will be made for medical or compassionate grounds, whether transfers already approved will proceed, and how long the freeze will last. There is also no word on whether the department plans to fill vacant posts through fresh recruitment or a centralised transfer policy.
Punjab’s public hospitals are under heightened scrutiny this season, with the province recently ordering new neonatal care SOPs for all public hospitals and releasing daily performance data for its hospitals. Doctors have also been dealing with regulatory changes such as the requirement to renew PMDC registration certificates every six months.
Doctors’ associations are likely to seek clarity from the department on the scope and duration of the ban. Until then, heads of hospitals and district health authorities have been left with a clear instruction — issue no NOCs — and a warning of disciplinary action if they do.
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