KARACHI: Patient services at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in Karachi ground to a halt on Wednesday after nurses walked off duty, accusing the hospital administration of ignoring an already-approved seniority list while naming officials to the hospital’s top nursing posts. The walkout led to the cancellation of the day’s scheduled operations and disrupted care in intensive care units and general wards, before hospital officials, in talks held the same day, agreed to reissue the appointment orders in line with the seniority list.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi |
| Trigger | Alleged bypassing of the approved seniority list in appointing nursing superintendents |
| Posts in dispute | Chief Nursing Superintendent; Deputy/Assistant Nursing Superintendent |
| Nurses’ representative body | Young Nurses’ Association |
| Immediate impact | Scheduled operations cancelled; ICU and ward services disrupted |
| Hospital’s response | Same-day talks; fresh appointment letter issued per seniority list |
| Hospital spokesperson | Dr. Waqas Khan |
What Triggered the Protest
A senior office-bearer of the Young Nurses’ Association said the dispute centred on how two of JPMC’s most senior nursing posts were filled. According to the association, nurses with a stronger claim under the hospital’s approved seniority list were passed over in favour of comparatively junior colleagues named as chief nursing superintendent and deputy/assistant nursing superintendent.
The chief nursing superintendent’s post is typically the most senior administrative position within a hospital’s nursing cadre, with authority over ward assignments, staff discipline and day-to-day nursing operations — which is part of why seniority-based appointment to the role carries weight within the profession.
The association maintains that the seniority list in question was not informal or disputed; it had already been cleared by both JPMC’s own administration and the Sindh government before the appointments were made. Key points of the nurses’ complaint, as described by their representative, included:
- Junior staff were elevated to the two top nursing posts
- The move allegedly bypassed an approved seniority list
- The list had already received sign-off from JPMC administration and the provincial government
In response, nurses affiliated with the association suspended patient-facing duties, a decision that quickly rippled through hospital operations.
Impact on Hospital Services
The boycott disrupted care across multiple departments at the public-sector teaching hospital. All operations scheduled for the day were called off, and services in intensive care units and general wards were significantly affected, according to hospital sources.
JPMC spokesperson Dr. Waqas Khan confirmed that patient services had indeed been hit by the protest. He said the hospital avoided a complete shutdown by relying on medical students and paramedical staff to cover essential functions while regular nursing duties were suspended. As one of Sindh’s public-sector referral hospitals, JPMC serves patients who depend on subsidised or free treatment, making even a single day’s disruption to elective procedures and ICU capacity significant for those already waiting for care.
JPMC’s Response
Faced with a hospital-wide disruption, JPMC’s administration moved to contain the situation quickly, calling representatives of the protesting nurses in for talks within hours of the boycott beginning. The meeting produced a fresh letter on the disputed appointments, this time framed to reflect the approved seniority list, Dr. Khan confirmed.
It was not immediately clear whether the new letter formally reversed the earlier appointments or simply reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to following the seniority list in future postings. Neither JPMC nor the Young Nurses’ Association had issued a detailed public statement on the letter’s exact terms at the time of publication.
Background: A Recurring Flashpoint at JPMC
Wednesday’s protest is not an isolated episode. JPMC, a major public-sector teaching hospital, has seen recurring friction over service and promotion rules since its management was transferred from the federal government to the Sindh government in August 2023 — a handover that some JPMC employees later challenged before the Sindh High Court, arguing it threatened their service rights.
The institution’s scale has grown substantially in recent years. JPMC, together with the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), expanded from a combined 2,092 to 4,041 beds over 12 years, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said in remarks reported in January 2025.
Disputes over service rules have surfaced in other departments as well:
| Period | Dispute | Outcome/Status |
|---|---|---|
| Aug–Sep 2023 | Federal-to-Sindh handover of JPMC, NICVD and NICH management | Challenged by some employees before the Sindh High Court |
| October 2025 | Accounts officer appointed via the Sindh Public Service Commission instead of internal promotion | Accounts department staff protested; administration insisted the post should be filled internally |
| 12 August 2026 | Chief and deputy/assistant nursing superintendent appointments | Nurses allege the seniority list was bypassed; hospital issued a fresh letter after talks |
Nursing capacity itself has also been a point of concern. Hospital officials said in October 2025 that JPMC then had only around 280 nurses, well short of required strength, and that a 2024 proposal for separate recruitment drives in departments such as Emergency and Gynaecology remained pending with the provincial health authorities.
The Young Nurses’ Association’s Sindh chapter has organised around service and promotion grievances before. In 2021, its members staged a week-long sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club and attempted to march on the Chief Minister’s House over similar demands, an effort that was blocked by police.
What Happens Next
JPMC has operated under Sindh government oversight, coordinated through the provincial Health Department led by minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, since the 2023 handover. With a revised appointment letter now issued, the immediate question is whether the Young Nurses’ Association regards its central demand — strict adherence to the approved seniority list — as having been met, or whether further action is planned.
The recurrence of similar disputes across JPMC’s accounts, nursing and other departments over the past three years suggests the underlying issue extends beyond any single appointment. A durable resolution would likely require consistently enforced promotion and seniority rules across departments, rather than letters issued department by department after each protest.
Leave a Reply