In a significant move to improve operational efficiency and patient safety, the Punjab government has imposed a complete ban on mobile phone usage for all medical and paramedical staff below Basic Pay Scale (BPS)-18 in public hospitals across the province. This restriction will be enforced in intensive care units (ICUs), emergency wards, operation theatres, NICUs, and other patient-sensitive zones.

New Communication System Based on Pagers for Emergency Alerts

Replacing traditional mobile-based alerts, the Punjab government has also introduced a pager-based communication system specifically for activating the Red Code (medical emergency) and Blue Code (cardiac arrest or critical life-threatening emergency) protocols. This step is part of a broader effort to ensure that emergency communications remain fast, reliable, and distraction-free crucial in high-pressure, time-sensitive healthcare environments.

Targeted Restriction: Who Can and Cannot Use Mobiles

The new directive clearly distinguishes between different levels of hospital staff. Senior healthcare officials including:

  • Medical Superintendents
  • Additional Medical Superintendents
  • Deputy Medical Superintendents
  • Senior Consultants and Registrars
  • Directors of Hospitals
    are allowed to continue using mobile phones during duty hours. However, all junior doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff under BPS-18 are strictly prohibited from using mobile phones while on duty, especially in patient areas.

Purpose: Eliminating Distractions and Enhancing Patient Care

Authorities behind the decision have cited growing concerns over excessive mobile phone usage among hospital staff, which was reported to be affecting attentiveness, delaying response in emergencies, and compromising overall patient care quality. By removing distractions, the administration hopes to restore a high level of focus and professional discipline during working hours.

Hospital Administration Assigned Monitoring Duties

To ensure effective implementation, the Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department has directed all Medical Superintendents and department heads to enforce the new mobile phone ban strictly. They are required to:

  • Monitor staff compliance regularly
  • Submit written compliance reports
  • Identify violators and take disciplinary action
  • Ensure pager devices are fully functional and accessible

Hospitals have been given a 72-hour deadline to fully implement this policy and submit compliance status to the provincial health department.

Integrated With Broader Emergency Code System Reform

This decision is part of the broader hospital reform program launched by the Punjab government. Under this initiative, public hospitals are now instructed to implement Red Code and Blue Code response systems, enabling immediate life-saving responses during medical crises. The Chief Minister’s Health Vigilance Committee is also actively monitoring hospital performance, including code protocol enforcement, medical staff discipline, and emergency preparedness.

Potential Impact and Expected Outcomes

Health officials anticipate that this policy will:

  • Improve emergency response times
  • Ensure staff remain alert and available for patients
  • Reduce negligence cases
  • Enhance the quality of medical services
  • Set a precedent for other provinces

The pager system, being a one-way emergency alert tool, prevents misuse while delivering critical signals in high-noise or fast-paced environments something mobile phones often fail to do due to app or network delays.

Public and Medical Community Reactions

Reactions from within the medical community and the public have been mixed. While many healthcare professionals acknowledge the need for discipline and responsiveness, some staff have raised concerns about being unreachable during family emergencies. Others questioned whether pagers offer the flexibility and adaptability of smartphones, especially for tech-savvy medical practitioners.

Despite concerns, patient rights groups and hospital reform advocates have largely welcomed the change, highlighting that the benefits to patient safety outweigh personal convenience.

Training and Support for Transition

The Health Department has promised to provide technical training on pager usage, system configuration, and code emergency handling to all medical staff. Hospitals are also being instructed to conduct mock drills to test the responsiveness of the newly implemented communication framework.