Sindh Healthcare Commission Licensing for New Hospitals
If you are planning a new hospital, clinic, diagnostic centre or dialysis unit in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana or anywhere else in Sindh, one regulator will shape your building from the very first sketch: the Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC). Registration and licensing by the commission is required for healthcare establishments in the province, and its standards affect layout, infrastructure, infection control, safety systems and documentation.
This guide explains Sindh Healthcare Commission licensing from a design and construction perspective: what the commission does, how standards translate into building requirements, how to prepare for inspection, and the most common gaps we see in new and converted facilities. It is general guidance only; always confirm the latest requirements directly with the commission.
⚡ Quick Answer
The Sindh Healthcare Commission was established under the Sindh Healthcare Commission Act, 2013 to regulate healthcare establishments in Sindh. Facilities must register and obtain a licence, and are assessed against the commission’s Minimum Service Delivery Standards, which cover management, patient rights, infection control, facility safety, equipment, staffing and records. For a new hospital, the building should be designed to these standards from the start, because layout, services and safety gaps are expensive to fix after construction. Current procedures and forms are available from the Sindh Healthcare Commission.
🏢 About Hospital Design Hub
Hospital Design Hub is a specialist hospital design and construction company, established in 2000 and focused on healthcare infrastructure: design, construction, consultancy and project management, and the renovation and maintenance of hospital facilities. With more than 50 successfully completed projects, our team has worked on healthcare facilities across Pakistan, including projects such as LDMC, MCH Islamkot, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital, and UOL Hospital Lahore.
We design healthcare facilities to meet provincial licensing standards from the first sketch, so owners avoid costly changes before inspection.
🏛️ What Is the Sindh Healthcare Commission?
The Sindh Healthcare Commission is the provincial regulator for healthcare establishments in Sindh, similar in purpose to the Punjab Healthcare Commission in Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Care Commission in KP. Its broad aims are to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare services, to protect patients, and to act against unqualified practice.
Healthcare establishments covered generally include hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, maternity homes, diagnostic and imaging centres, laboratories, dialysis centres and other facilities providing healthcare services, in both the public and private sectors. Owners should check which category their facility falls under and what documents are required for registration and licensing.
📑 Minimum Service Delivery Standards: What They Cover
The commission assesses facilities against service delivery standards that typically cover areas such as:
| Standard Area | What Inspectors Typically Look For | Building/Design Implications |
|---|---|---|
| Management and leadership | Policies, organisational structure, licences | Administrative offices, records storage |
| Patient rights and education | Consent, privacy, complaints, information display | Private consultation rooms, screened examination areas, signage |
| Access, assessment and continuity of care | Registration, triage, referral | Reception, triage areas, clear patient flow |
| Care of patients | Clinical protocols, emergency care | Emergency/resuscitation area, equipment space |
| Management of medication | Storage, dispensing, controlled drugs | Pharmacy with proper storage, refrigeration, secure cabinets |
| Infection prevention and control | Hand hygiene, sterilisation, waste management | Hand-wash basins, CSSD/sterilisation area, waste storage |
| Facility management and safety | Fire safety, electrical safety, water, power backup | Fire systems, generators, safe electrical design, water storage |
| Human resources | Qualified, registered staff | Staff areas, changing rooms, duty rooms |
| Information management | Medical records, confidentiality | Secure records room or IT systems |
This table summarises typical areas of assessment. Always refer to the commission’s current standards documents for the exact requirements for your category of facility.
🏗️ Designing a Facility to Pass Inspection
Many licensing problems are really building problems. When we review facilities that struggled with inspections, the issues are often physical:
- No privacy in examination or consultation areas.
- Too few hand-wash basins, especially in clinical rooms and near beds.
- No proper sterilisation area, with dirty and clean instruments handled together.
- No dedicated waste storage for infectious waste before collection.
- Emergency areas without resuscitation space or medical gases.
- Pharmacies without temperature control or refrigerators for cold-chain medicines.
- Weak fire safety: no alarms, blocked exits, missing extinguishers.
- No power backup for critical areas.
- Poor accessibility for patients on stretchers and wheelchairs.
Designing to the standards from concept stage avoids all of these. Our guides to CSSD design, hospital fire safety and hospital power backup cover several of these areas in detail.
📋 Licensing Readiness Checklist for New Facilities in Sindh
- Confirm your facility category and the applicable standards.
- Brief the design team on the standards before concept design.
- Plan patient flow: reception, waiting, triage, consultation, treatment, discharge.
- Provide privacy in all clinical areas.
- Provide hand hygiene facilities throughout clinical areas.
- Design a sterilisation or CSSD area with one-way workflow.
- Provide safe storage for medicines, including cold chain.
- Design fire detection, alarms, extinguishers and escape routes.
- Provide backup power for essential and critical areas.
- Plan infectious waste segregation, storage and collection.
- Provide accessible entrances, ramps, lifts and toilets.
- Prepare policies, SOPs, staff records and documentation alongside construction.
🏢 Converting an Existing Building in Karachi
Many new healthcare facilities in Karachi and other Sindh cities are set up in existing commercial or residential buildings. This can work, but owners should check early:
- Zoning and building approvals from the relevant authority, such as the Sindh Building Control Authority, for healthcare use.
- Structural capacity for heavy equipment and water tanks.
- Floor heights for HVAC ducts and medical gas pipelines.
- Lift size for stretchers and beds.
- Fire escape routes and staircase adequacy.
- Utility capacity: electrical load, water supply and drainage.
- Parking and ambulance access.
Read our guide to converting an old building into a hospital and our earlier article on Karachi hospital code compliance.
⚖️ Sindh vs Punjab: Similar Goals, Different Regulators
| Aspect | Sindh Healthcare Commission | Punjab Healthcare Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Sindh province | Punjab province |
| Main function | Registration, licensing and quality regulation | Registration, licensing and quality regulation |
| Standards | Commission’s service delivery standards | Commission’s minimum service delivery standards |
| Design implication | Design to Sindh standards and local building authority rules | Design to Punjab standards and local building authority rules |
For Punjab, see our guide to PHC layout guidelines.
✅ Pros and Cons of Designing to Standards from Day One
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
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🛠️ How Hospital Design Hub Helps in Sindh
We design and build healthcare facilities in Sindh, from Karachi hospitals to rural MCH centres such as our work in Islamkot, Tharparkar. Our services include standards gap assessments of existing buildings, layout design to commission requirements, MEP and safety systems, and support during inspection preparation. See our hospital design consultancy.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Sindh Healthcare Commission?
It is the provincial regulator established under the Sindh Healthcare Commission Act, 2013 to register, license and improve the quality of healthcare establishments in Sindh.
Which facilities need Sindh Healthcare Commission registration?
Healthcare establishments such as hospitals, clinics, maternity homes, diagnostic centres, laboratories and dialysis centres generally need registration and licensing. Check the commission’s current rules for your category.
What standards does the commission use?
The commission assesses facilities against its service delivery standards covering areas such as management, patient rights, infection control, medication management, facility safety and records.
How does licensing affect hospital design?
Standards on privacy, infection control, sterilisation, waste, fire safety, power backup and accessibility all translate into specific rooms, layouts and building services.
Can an existing building be licensed as a hospital in Karachi?
Often yes, if zoning, structure, floor heights, lifts, escape routes and utilities are suitable and the layout is adapted to meet the standards.
Is Sindh licensing the same as Punjab licensing?
They share similar goals, but each province has its own commission, laws and standards. Facilities must meet the requirements of the province where they operate.
Where can I find the latest requirements?
The Sindh Healthcare Commission’s official website and offices provide current standards, forms and procedures.
📞 Opening a Hospital or Clinic in Sindh?
Our team can review your building or drawings against licensing standards and design the changes needed for a smooth inspection.
Call: +92 322 8000190 | Email: info@hospitaldesignhub.com | Web: hospitaldesignhub.com
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