Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital

Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital
Geography
Location	Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Coordinates	33°37′07″N 73°04′21″E / 33.6186°N 73.0726°E / 33.6186; 73.0726
Organisation
Care system	Public
Religious affiliation	British Leprosy Mission
History
Opened	1904
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Pakistan

The Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital (Urdu: راولپنڈی لیپروسی ہسپتال) is a non-profit leprosy hospital in Pakistan. It is among the oldest leprosy hospitals in the region.^[1][2]

Chris Schmotzer is the current medical director of the hospital.^[3]

It was established in 1904 by the British Leprosy Mission.^[4][5] Originally situated in a remote area outside Rawalpindi, the hospital now located in a densely populated part of the city.^[4] The hospital's creation was proposed by an American professor, R.R. Stewart, teaching at the nearby Gordon College, after encountering a group of lepers living on the city's outskirts, in a leper colony, as mandated by the British Lepers Act of 1827.^[4][6]

The hospital provided treatment for leprosy patients from across British India. In the late 1930s, a home for healthy children of patients was established, though it was closed in the early 1960s due to changes in treatment methods.^[4] The American Mission also built asylums for leprosy patients, but these were eventually closed or converted into hospitals following the discovery of a cure in 1948.^[4]

In 1968, the German Leprosy Relief Association-backed organization Aid to Leprosy Patients assumed control of the hospital, and by 1965, it began serving as a referral center.^[4] Since 1970, the hospital has operated a 40-bed short-term admission unit and a six-day-a-week outpatient clinic.^[4]

The General Skin Clinic, introduced in 1972, treats leprosy alongside other skin diseases and assists with early detection.^[4] Subsequent additions to the hospital include the general physiotherapy department in 1981, an eye clinic in 1995, and a surgical unit in 1986.^[4] In 1999, a small-scale tuberculosis control program was initiated.^[4]

Aid to Leprosy Patients created a social department in 1992 to rehabilitate cured patients by assessing individual needs and implementing rehabilitation steps.^[4] The Leprosy Control Programme in Pakistan is a collaboration between the provincial health department and Aid to Leprosy Patients.^[4]