Lahore High Court clears way for 24 CT scan machines at Punjab district hospitals
File photo of the Lahore High Court building.
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has dismissed a constitutional petition against the Punjab Health and Population Department’s procurement of CT scan machines for 24 district headquarters hospitals, clearing the way for the department’s plan to move ahead. The court held that the petitioner had failed to establish any violation of the Punjab Procurement Rules, 2014, and that the purchase did not amount to mis-procurement.
Who challenged the purchase
The constitutional petition, No. 66022 of 2026, was filed by Eastern Medical Technology Services. It challenged the department’s move to set up in-house CT scan facilities at 24 district hospitals across the province. On the other side of the process, Vertex Medical emerged as the lowest successful bidder and will supply machines manufactured by Siemens. Advocate Muhammad Zeeshan Akhtar represented the company before the court.
What it means for patients
According to the health department, the point of the project is to strengthen the diagnostic capacity of public hospitals themselves, so that patients no longer have to depend on outside centres for a CT scan. Secretary Health and Population Nadia Saquib has led the initiative, and the department’s argument is straightforward enough: a scanner inside the hospital saves the patient time, and keeps treatment from stalling while reports are awaited.
Questions raised earlier still stand
The plan has not been free of debate. Earlier reporting put the project at around Rs1,834.7 million for 32-slice machines, and noted that the Planning and Development Board had raised a pointed question: where cardiology and cardiac surgery units are being set up at these hospitals, the scanners ought to match the demands of cardiac patients. The board also pointed out that these hospitals already have scanning services running under a public-private partnership model. The court’s ruling removes the legal obstacle. Whether the practical questions are answered will only become clear as procurement and installation proceed.
