Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is facing a serious shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds, with only around 400 ICU beds available in public hospitals for a population of more than 40 million.
The issue came into focus after a citizen, Muhammad Owais, lost his critically ill mother at Khyber Teaching Hospital while searching for an ICU bed. According to Owais, hospital staff told him that no ICU bed was available and that he would have to wait.
Official figures show that ICU capacity in major public hospitals across the province remains limited. Hayatabad Medical Complex has 49 ICU beds, Khyber Teaching Hospital has 45, while Lady Reading Hospital, the province’s largest tertiary-care hospital and a major referral center for emergencies and bomb blast victims, has only 34 ICU beds.
Ayub Teaching Hospital in Abbottabad has 32 ICU beds, Mardan Medical Complex has 16, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex in Nowshera has just six.
Healthcare experts described the shortage of ICU beds as a serious challenge for the province’s healthcare system, noting that existing capacity falls well short of the growing needs of a large population.
Experts also cited a lack of trained critical care staff and specialized resources as key barriers to expanding ICU services. They called for increased investment in critical care infrastructure, workforce training, and financial support to make intensive care treatment more accessible and affordable across the province.
KP Health Secretary Shahidullah Khan said the health department and the provincial government are aware of the shortage of ICU beds in public hospitals.
He said improving healthcare services remains a top priority and added that the provincial government plans to increase the health budget in the upcoming fiscal year.
He further added that the government also intends to double the number of ICU beds across public-sector hospitals.
“We are committed to ensuring better healthcare facilities for the people of the province,” he said.