Punjab is introducing a bill named the Locum Hiring Act 2025 aimed at recruiting medical experts on a temporary basis to address the growing shortage of staff in hospitals and clinics. The act when passed will create a Locum Policy Committee chaired by the provincial minister for specialised healthcare with the specialised healthcare secretary as vice chair. The committee will also include three field experts and a human resources representative. Their task will be to identify where doctors, nurses, specialists are most urgently needed and to establish the rules of temporary hiring such as how long contracts last what salaries will be paid what benefits will be provided and what the rules for terminating contracts will look like.

In order to ensure fairness and openness the proposed law requires that job opportunities under the temporary scheme be advertised in at least two newspapers with clear explanations of procedure eligibility and compensation. The temporary hires will not have claims to permanent employee status nor receive all the benefits regular staff enjoy. The power to extend or end these temporary contracts will lie with the Locum Policy Committee. The draft bill has been sent to the relevant assembly committee which must review it and submit its report within two months.

The goal of this new law is to rapidly fill gaps in the health system so that services can run smoothly especially in underserved areas. Punjab faces a challenge where many hospitals struggle with insufficient specialist care or are forced to stretch existing staff too thinly which can affect patient outcomes. By bringing in experts temporarily the government expects to relieve some of that pressure and improve healthcare delivery. The law might also reduce waiting times for patients and improve access to quality care in both rural and urban parts of Punjab.

There are important questions about how this system will work in practice such as whether temporary staff will have incentives to perform at high standards whether contract terms will be fair whether there will be supervision and evaluation processes and whether the government will ensure payment and conditions are upheld. If implemented well this bill could bring meaningful change in how medical services are delivered where staffing shortages have been a barrier.