Punjab Social Security Mobile Health Programme: Free Healthcare for Workers 2026

What is the Punjab Social Security Mobile Health Programme?

The Punjab Social Security Mobile Health Programme is a Punjab government scheme that takes free healthcare to industrial workers. Mobile health units park at factory gates and visit workers' homes, so a worker can get checked during the working day and a family member can get care at home.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the programme in mid-October 2026. The Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) runs it. Labour Minister Muhammad Manshaullah Butt and Secretary Labour Danish Afzal briefed the Chief Minister on the programme at the launch. PESSI already provides treatment and medicines to industrial workers through social security hospitals and medical outlets across Punjab. This programme adds wheels to that system.

The aim is early diagnosis and treatment. A worker with high blood pressure, diabetes or a heart problem can be found and treated before it turns serious. It also aims to reduce the load on social security hospitals, because many small problems can be handled on the spot.

Who can use the mobile health units?

The programme covers registered industrial workers and their families in Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura in the first phase, more than 4.6 million people in total, according to the Chief Minister's Office statement reported at the launch.

You are covered if you are a registered worker with PESSI. Your employer must have registered you and must pay your social security contribution. If you are not sure whether you are registered, ask your employer's HR office or check your PESSI social security card. Workers who hold a Benazir Mazdoor Card are also covered through the same PESSI registration.

Family members get care at home. The units treat workers at their workplaces and visit workers' homes to treat family members who cannot travel. This matters for elderly parents and for women who cannot leave the house during working hours.

What free services do the mobile health units provide?

The units provide free medical consultations, outpatient services, diagnostic tests, medicines, first aid, telemedicine and health awareness sessions. You do not pay for a check-up, a test or the medicines the unit gives you.

Consultations cover common problems such as fever, body pain, skin problems, stomach trouble, high blood pressure and diabetes. Doctors can refer a patient to a social security hospital if the problem needs a specialist or admission. First aid is available for minor injuries at work.

What is in the 65-unit fleet?

The fleet has 65 mobile health units in total. The breakdown below is taken from the official briefing reported at the launch. The dental and cardiac units sit inside the hospital and clinic figures, because the four named groups already add up to 65, and the briefing gave no separate count for them.

Which districts are covered in the first phase?

The first phase covers Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhupura. These three districts hold a large share of Punjab's factories, which is why they came first. More than 4.6 million workers and their families in these districts can use the service.

The units will visit 29,845 factories, industrial establishments and other institutions across the three districts. That figure comes from the official briefing at the launch. No public schedule shows which factory gets a visit on which day, so a worker should ask their factory management when a unit is due.

When will the programme reach your district?

The Punjab government plans to extend the programme to 12 more districts by March 2027. The table below lists every district named in the official statement. No start date has been announced for any single district in the second phase. The March 2027 date is the target for all 12 districts together.

If your district is in Phase 2, there is nothing to apply for yet. The units will come to your district's factories once the expansion starts. Until then, PESSI hospitals and medical outlets remain the route for free treatment.

How do workers use the service? There is no form to fill in

There is no separate application form for this programme. You do not register for it, and you do not need a new card. Coverage comes from your existing PESSI registration through your employer. When a unit visits your factory, walk up and get checked. When it visits your home area, your family can get checked there.

Some websites publish fake registration links for Punjab schemes and charge a fee. This programme has no such link. If a website or a WhatsApp message asks you to pay to register for mobile health units, it is not genuine.

Heart disease screening for workers and schoolchildren

Heart disease is a major part of this programme. The Mobile Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) Screening Unit screens workers for early signs of rheumatic heart disease, which can be treated if caught early and can cause serious damage if missed.

The screening programme covers the 29,845 factories and institutions on the visit list. Mobile teams will also screen around 54,000 children in workers' welfare schools across Punjab, not only in the three first-phase districts.

If a screening finds a problem, the patient is referred for further tests and treatment. The cardiac mobile hospital provides the first diagnosis and consultation, and a social security hospital handles follow-up care.

How does this fit PESSI's existing hospitals and outlets?

PESSI already provides treatment and medicines to more than 10 million industrial workers and their families through 24 social security hospitals and 250 medical outlets across Punjab. The mobile health units sit on top of that network. They do not replace the hospitals. They take the first step of care, a check-up, a test or a medicine, to the worker, and they send serious cases to the hospitals.

At the launch, the Chief Minister also visited the outpatient department of Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital and the Rehmatul-lil-Alameen Cardiac Centre, where she spoke to patients in the cardiology ward. The units find patients, and the hospitals treat the ones who need more care.

PESSI is also planning a School of Nursing at Manga Social Security Hospital. Commissioner Zulfiqar Ali Kharal said steps were under way to set up the school. It is a plan, not an open institution yet, so do not apply for admission until PESSI announces it.

Workers who need wider health cover should also know about other schemes. The Sehat Sahulat Card is a different system for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not a PESSI benefit. Pregnant women in workers' families may also qualify for the Punjab Aaghosh Programme. Workers with disabilities can check the Himmat Card for separate support.

What is still missing or unclear?

First, the exact launch date is unclear. Some outlets report the inauguration as Monday 12 October 2026, while others date their reports to 13 October 2026. This guide uses mid-October 2026 until an official Punjab government release confirms the day.

Second, the fleet arithmetic needs care. The briefing lists 10 mobile hospitals, 5 mobile clinics, 40 motorcycles and 10 scooters, which already add up to 65. The dental and cardiac units have no separate count, so they must sit inside those figures. Any guide that adds them on top of 65 is wrong.

Third, no visit schedule has been published. Workers cannot look up when a unit will reach their factory or their street. No patient numbers have been published either, so it is not yet possible to say how many workers have been treated since the launch.

Fourth, no programme-specific portal or helpline was announced. PESSI has its own general offices and a head office in Lahore, but the launch reports name no phone number or website for this programme. Workers should ask their employer or visit their nearest PESSI directorate.

How do you stay safe from scams?

This programme is free, and no agent can register you for it.

• Never pay anyone for registration, a visit or a medicine from a mobile health unit.
• Never share your CNIC number, PESSI card details or bank details with a person who contacts you about this programme on WhatsApp or by phone.
• Do not click on registration links for this programme. There is no official registration link, so any link that claims to be one is fake.
• If someone claims your factory visit depends on a payment, report it to your factory management and to PESSI.
• Check facts only against PESSI and the Punjab government. A social media post is not proof that a new district has joined.