Plumbing leaks swamp the basement. Red stains reek of dried medicines. Broken furniture lies piled up with burst pipes that once supplied oxygen. A rusty ventilator gathers dust in a corner of the emergency department of United Christian Hospital (UCH), one of the oldest missionary hospitals in Lahore.

“Cracks have appeared on the large water tank that could flood the facility anytime. The gas supply was cut off earlier this year over unpaid bills. Electricity is often suspended. We were once served on a silver spoon; now it’s a living night-mare,” Christian nurse Mary (not her real name) told UCA News.

“There is no general surgeon; the gap is filled with visiting doctors and consultants. Only nurses care for patients in evenings and at night. Yet the staff have not received their full salary for two years. The administration owes me half a million rupees (US$3,145). The residential staff are being charged over-priced electricity bills.”

Mary is one of the 60 employees of UCH, the most talked about institute among Christian social media users over many years. The rumors include a red light bar, fake degree holders, encroachment and sale of its land and medical equipment. Established in 1948 by Presbyterian American missionaries, the hospital was opened in Forman Christian College and later moved to the Gulberg area. Presbyterians bought the land while the US Methodist Church constructed the building with the help of Britain’s Anglican Church. The first open heart surgery in Pakistan was done here in 1968.