Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Thursday expressed concern over the lack of facilities; staff indifference and mismanagement in the government hospitals of North Kashmir districts, saying patients visiting the hospitals have to undergo unease in wake of government apathy and inaction.
While decrying the sudden closure of OPD facilities in north Kashmir hospitals, party leader Mohammad Akbar Lone said that government is forcing people to visit private hospitals instead. “Most of the people living in far-flung of north Kashmir districts are poor and cannot afford to get treatment in private hospitals. The closure of OPDs has not just added to the trepidation of general patients; the expecting mothers are also facing immense problems. Not everyone can afford to avail treatment at private run hospitals or bear the expenses of visiting Srinagar and staying there on rented accommodations. The current infrastructure in these hospitals is also not sufficient to cater to the mounting demands of the surrounding populations,” he said.
“From the unavailability of life-saving drugs, rampant staff indifference, government hospitals of North Kashmir lack in all basic facilities making it a terrible experience for scores of patients visiting these hospitals. There is no proper code of conduct in place across all government-run hospitals to manage the general out-patient rush and COVID-19 related cases. The hospital administration at these hospitals is neglectful of the out-patient rush and is focusing on the COVID-19 patients only,” he said.
He impressed on the divisional administration Kashmir to take stock of the prevailing mismanagement in all the primary, secondary health care institutions of north Kashmir and ensure hassle free running of OPD facilities there. He also urged the divisional administration to augment and upgrade the infrastructure in these hospitals with special emphasis on child and maternity facilities, which he said are not upto the mark.
