Punjab Makes Hospital Staff Uniforms Compulsory
The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has made Punjab hospital staff uniforms mandatory for doctors and other healthcare staff at all medical treatment facilities across the province. The rule covers staff at Category-I and Category-IIA healthcare establishments in Punjab.
ProPakistani reported that the directives were issued on Friday under Section 4(2)(o) of the PHC Act 2010. The commission has directed all healthcare facilities in the province to ensure compliance with the uniform requirements.
The order sets a colour for each main group of staff. Doctors will wear blue uniforms. Paramedical staff will wear green uniforms. Laboratory personnel will wear white coats. Sanitation workers have also been instructed to wear standardised uniforms.
Why the colours and short sleeves matter
The colour code gives patients a quick way to tell who is who in a busy ward. A patient, or a patient’s family, can pick out a doctor in blue, a paramedic in green, and laboratory staff in a white coat without asking each person for a job title. In a crowded public hospital, that small difference can save time and reduce confusion.
The commission has also directed doctors and healthcare workers to use short-sleeved uniforms to help prevent infections. Long sleeves can carry germs between patients and work areas. Short sleeves make hand and arm hygiene easier, and they are simpler to keep clean during clinical work.
In addition, the commission has prohibited healthcare staff from wearing their designated uniforms outside hospital premises. A uniform worn on the street, in a market, or on public transport can pick up dirt and germs and then carry them back into a ward. The ban keeps work clothing inside the clinical setting where it belongs.
Who must wear the Punjab hospital staff uniforms
The directives apply to all staff across Category-I and Category-IIA healthcare establishments in Punjab. The PHC has issued instructions to all healthcare facilities across the province to ensure compliance. No separate deadline or penalty was stated in the report of the directives. As a result, the immediate requirement is compliance by the facilities themselves, under the commission’s direction.
The order covers the main clinical and support groups in a hospital. Doctors, paramedical staff, laboratory personnel and sanitation workers are all named. That breadth matters, because infection control and patient identification depend on every group, not only on doctors.
| Staff group | Uniform under the PHC order |
|---|---|
| Doctors | Blue uniform |
| Paramedical staff | Green uniform |
| Laboratory personnel | White coat |
| Sanitation workers | Standardised uniform |
Punjab hospitals and the wider enforcement picture
The uniform order is the latest step in tighter oversight of Punjab’s hospitals. Earlier, the Lahore High Court ordered Punjab to end the parchi system in public hospitals within four weeks, in a case about patients’ rights to life and healthcare. That order and the uniform directives share a practical aim: clearer, more accountable care for patients using public facilities.
Regulators elsewhere in Pakistan have also been acting on healthcare standards. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 1,465 illegal medical centres were sealed in three months, according to a provincial report. In Sindh, a probe was ordered into idle hospital machines. The Punjab uniform order is a different kind of step, since it sets a standard for staff in registered facilities rather than closing unregistered ones. Together, the cases show a wider push to make health facilities easier to identify, inspect and hold to account.
For patients in Punjab, the change should be visible at the next hospital visit. Staff in blue, green and white will be easier to recognise. Staff will no longer wear clinical uniforms outside the hospital. The facilities themselves now carry the duty to make the new code stick.
Frequently asked questions
Which staff must wear uniforms under the Punjab order?
Doctors, paramedical staff, laboratory personnel and sanitation workers at Category-I and Category-IIA healthcare establishments in Punjab.
What colours has the Punjab Healthcare Commission set?
Doctors wear blue, paramedical staff wear green, and laboratory personnel wear white coats. Sanitation workers wear standardised uniforms.
Why short sleeves?
The commission directed short-sleeved uniforms to help prevent infections, since short sleeves support better hand and arm hygiene in clinical work.
Can hospital staff wear their uniforms outside the hospital?
No. The commission has prohibited healthcare staff from wearing their designated uniforms outside hospital premises.
