How to Complain Against a Hospital or Doctor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Complain against a hospital, clinic or doctor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 60 days. The affidavit, documents, online portal and fines up to Rs 1 million.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a complaint against a hospital, clinic or doctor goes to the KP Health Care Commission within 60 days. Complain to the hospital first. Then file online at complaintshcc.kp.gov.pk with your CNIC, your documents and a notarised affidavit. Anonymous complaints are not accepted.
A wrong injection. A bill that doubled overnight. A death the family cannot understand. In each case the question is the same: who do you tell, and will anyone act? In KP the answer is a body most patients have never heard of. We read its complaint rules, line by line, so you know what it needs before you start.
The Commission is busy. Its Annual Report 2025-26 says it received 1,103 new complaints in that year and resolved 1,105, including some left over from the year before. It has received 4,862 complaints since 2022.
The KP Health Care Commission handles hospital and clinic complaints
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Care Commission, set up under the KP Health Care Commission Act 2015, hears complaints of medical negligence, maladministration, malpractice and failure to provide care. It covers public and private hospitals, clinics, labs and other establishments.
The Commission's complaint rules are the KP Health Care Commission (Complaint Management) Regulations, 2022. They define a health care establishment widely. It includes a hospital, diagnostic centre, blood bank, clinic, nursing home, maternity home, dental clinic, homeopathic or tibb clinic, physiotherapy clinic and aesthetic clinic.
The rules also define the words you will use in your complaint:
- Medical negligence is a failure of the duty of care that causes harm to the patient.
- Maladministration covers poor administration, including delay, refusing information, wrong record entries and giving a wrong drug.
- Malpractice is improper, unskilled or unethical professional conduct that causes harm.
A next of kin, or a person the patient authorises, can also complain. That matters when the patient has died or cannot act.
Complain to the hospital first, then the Commission within 60 days
Start with the hospital's own complaint desk. If it does not answer, refuses or decides against you, you can go to the Commission. Regulation 5(2) sets the limit at 60 days from when the cause of complaint arose.
The Commission's website adds a detail. It says you may go to the Commission if the hospital has not dealt with your complaint within 30 days of submitting it. So keep a dated copy of your complaint to the hospital. That copy is your proof that you tried.
Both limits run at once. Do not wait the full 30 days if your 60 days is about to end. If the hospital has no complaint desk at all, the regulations let you go straight to the Commission.
Five things must go with every complaint
The Commission takes up a complaint only if it clearly states the allegation, names the parties correctly, attaches your CNIC copy and supporting documents, includes the hospital's own decision, and comes with an affidavit attested by an Oath Commissioner or Notary Public.
| What to attach | Why |
|---|---|
| Copy of your CNIC | Required by regulation 5(6) |
| Medical records, bills, prescriptions | Documentary evidence for each allegation |
| Your complaint to the hospital and its reply | Shows you used the internal route |
| Affidavit, notarised or attested | Without it the complaint is not entertained |
| Signature or thumb impression | An unsigned complaint is not entertained |
The affidavit must say three things. The information is true to your knowledge. No case on the same matter is pending in any court. And the complaint is not made to harass or defame anyone.
Take that last part seriously. If the Commission finds a complaint false, the complainant can be fined up to Rs 200,000.
Filing the complaint takes six steps
Write your complaint to the hospital and keep a copy, gather records, get the affidavit attested, create an account on the Commission's complaint portal, upload everything, and then follow up by phone or email with your complaint details.
- Complain to the hospital in writing. Ask for a receipt or a stamped copy.
- Collect records. Ask for the patient file, test reports and bills. Note dates, names and times while you remember them.
- Get the affidavit attested. An Oath Commissioner or Notary Public must witness it.
- Create an account. Go to complaintshcc.kp.gov.pk and choose "Create Account". You sign in with email and password.
- Upload and submit. Attach every document listed above.
- Follow up. The Commission is at Sector B-3, Phase 5, Hayatabad, Peshawar. Its phone is (091) 9217014 and its email is info.hcc@kp.gov.pk.
You can also complain on paper, in person or by courier. The Commission also accepts complaints through the Pakistan Citizen's Portal and the KP government's Ikhtiyar Awam Ka portal. If a Citizen's Portal case is closed without an answer, you can reopen a closed complaint there.
Penalties reach Rs 1 million plus compensation
If negligence is proved, the establishment or provider can be fined up to Rs 1 million and ordered to pay compensation of at least the actual damage. The Commission can also recommend an FIR, licence cancellation and closure.
Regulation 13 grades negligence by harm.
- Severe, causing or contributing to death: fine up to Rs 1,000,000.
- Moderate, causing permanent loss of a body function: fine up to Rs 500,000.
- Mild, temporary disability or slower recovery: fine up to Rs 300,000.
Maladministration and malpractice can also bring a fine up to Rs 1 million plus compensation. The inquiry officer must finish the inquiry report within 60 days of the start of proceedings, though more time can be allowed. If you disagree with the final order, you can appeal to the District and Sessions Judge within 30 days of receiving it.
Two more routes can run alongside. A complaint about a doctor's personal licence or conduct can also go to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, which keeps the national register. Patients in Punjab use a different body, and the steps to complain against a hospital or doctor in Punjab are set by Punjab's own law. If the treatment was paid for under the provincial health card, keep the card details handy too, because KP Sehat Card Plus claims leave a record of the admission.
Common questions
Is there a fee to complain to the KP Health Care Commission?
The regulations we read set no complaint fee. You will pay the notary or Oath Commissioner for the affidavit.
Can I complain about a government hospital in KP?
Yes. The Act and regulations cover both public and private health care establishments.
How long do I have to complain?
60 days from when the cause of complaint arose, under regulation 5(2). Complain to the hospital first, and early.
Can I complain without giving my name?
No. Anonymous or pseudonymous complaints are not entertained.
Can a family member complain for a patient who died?
Yes. The regulations allow next of kin, or a person the patient authorised, to complain.
What if my case is already in court?
The Commission will not take up a matter that is pending before a court on the date it receives the complaint.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked at 8:40 pm PKT on 1 October 2026. We read the Commission's Directorate of Legal Affairs page, its Powers and Jurisdiction page and its contact page on hcc.kp.gov.pk, the Complaint Management Regulations, 2022 published there, and the Commission's Annual Report 2025-26. We opened the complaint portal's sign-in page and it loaded. We did not file a complaint, so we cannot say how long a real case takes. The website's complaint table counts complaints by channel differently from the annual report, and we used the annual report's figures.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
