DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi OPD Timings: Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital Departments, Medical Boards and Phone

DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi, renamed Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital (RTH) in July 2023, runs its OPD from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and 8am to 1pm on Friday, under Punjab's timing order for teaching hospitals. Its emergency is open 24 hours. It is on Kashmiri Bazaar Road, Raja Bazar, and it is the only place in Rawalpindi Division for government medical and disability boards.

Many people still search for it as "DHQ", and the old name is still on many referral slips. Below are its timings, departments, the medical board and fitness certificate work it does, and how a visit works. We read Rawalpindi Medical University's (RMU) page and the hospital's 2024 annual report on 24 October 2026.

DHQ Rawalpindi OPD runs 8am to 4pm, and to 1pm on Friday

Punjab's Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department fixed one OPD schedule for its teaching hospitals: 8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, including a lunch and prayer break, and 8am to 1pm on Friday. Sunday is emergency only.

The order is notification No. SO(ME)7-6/2021, dated 23 December 2021, which we read on 10 October 2026. RTH has been an RMU teaching hospital since 1975, according to its report. The health department's website did not open for us on 24 October, so we could not recheck the order that day.

The OPD sits in one open-plan hall on the ground floor, so most clinics are close together. The report says 2,500 to 2,700 people use the OPD each day, and corridors are often crowded. Arrive before 9am.

DHQ became Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital in July 2023

The hospital began as a dispensary in 1850 and became the District Headquarters Hospital in 1957. It was renamed Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital in July 2023, and its beds were renotified at 560 on 1 January 2024.

So "DHQ Rawalpindi", "District Headquarter Hospital" and "RTH" all mean the same place in Raja Bazar. RMU's website still lists it as District Headquarter Hospital. It serves the old city and takes trauma referrals, and patients also come from Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Medical boards and fitness certificates are done here

The 2024 report calls RTH the sole facility in Rawalpindi Division for medical and disability boards. Each month it handles about 3,500 medical fitness certificates, 200 invalidation boards, 150 disability boards and 191 medico-legal cases.

If a job, a court or a pension office has asked you for a government medical certificate or a disability board in Rawalpindi Division, this is the hospital. The report does not give a fee, a form or the days the boards sit. Visit the hospital in OPD hours with your CNIC and the letter that asks for the certificate, and ask at the medical superintendent's office which counter handles it.

Every department at DHQ Rawalpindi

RTH lists 21 services, from surgery and medicine to dialysis, dental, homoeopathy and hikmat. It is the only public hospital in Rawalpindi Division with a specialised neurosurgery department. It also runs the vaccination, diarrhoea control and family planning programmes.

• Surgery side: surgical unit, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, ENT, eye, gynaecology and anaesthesia.
• Medicine side: medical unit, pulmonology (chest), paediatrics with a newborn unit (NICU), dialysis, and ICU and CCU.
• Tests: pathology (chemistry, haematology, microbiology), and radiology with X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, Doppler and mammography. Endoscopy and echocardiography are also listed.
• Other: casualty, blood transfusion, dental, homoeopathy, hikmat (traditional medicine) and the mortuary.

In 2024 the hospital recorded 469,269 general OPD visits and 383,311 emergency visits. The report gives two different daily emergency figures, about 580 in one place and 900 to 1,000 in another, so treat the emergency as very busy either way.

How to see a doctor at DHQ Rawalpindi

Bring your CNIC, any referral slip, old prescriptions and test reports. For a child, bring the vaccination card. For a medico-legal case after an injury or assault, go to the emergency first and get treated.

1. Reach Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital on Kashmiri Bazaar Road, Raja Bazar, before 9am.
2. Register at the OPD counter on the ground floor with your CNIC.
3. Get a slip for the right clinic and wait for your turn.
4. Take any test to pathology or radiology, then return to the doctor.
5. For a medical board or fitness certificate, ask at the medical superintendent's office.

For specialties RTH does not cover, such as kidney transplant or the psychiatry institute, Rawalpindi's other RMU hospitals may suit you better: Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital, which has MRI and a burn unit.

Phone, complaints and the Sehat Card

RMU lists 051-9330050 to 54 as its office number. We did not find a separate RTH switchboard. For an ambulance, call 1122. Neither source mentions the Sehat Card, so ask at the admission desk before a planned operation.

If you face poor treatment or a demand for money, you can file a complaint against a hospital or doctor in Punjab. A doctor's registration can be checked on the PMDC register.

Common questions

What are DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi OPD timings?

8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am to 1pm on Friday. Sunday is emergency only.

Is DHQ Rawalpindi the same as Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital?

Yes. The District Headquarters Hospital was renamed Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital in July 2023. It is still on Kashmiri Bazaar Road, Raja Bazar.

Where can I get a medical fitness certificate in Rawalpindi?

At Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital, the old DHQ. Its 2024 report says it issues about 3,500 medical fitness certificates a month.

Where are disability boards held in Rawalpindi?

At Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital, which its report calls the sole facility for medical and disability boards in the division.

Does DHQ Rawalpindi have neurosurgery?

Yes. The report says it is the only public hospital in Rawalpindi Division with a specialised neurosurgery department.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the District Headquarter Hospital page on the RMU site and the Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital Annual Report 2024, linked from it, on 24 October 2026. OPD hours come from Punjab's notification No. SO(ME)7-6/2021, read on 10 October 2026; the health department's site did not respond on 24 October. We did not find a fee, form or schedule for medical boards and fitness certificates, a hospital switchboard number or the Sehat Card status.