The deaths of two women following routine procedures at a private hospital in Srinagar have shaken public confidence in healthcare and forced a reckoning with uncomfortable truths. These tragedies are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a deeper malaise: the unchecked expansion of private medical practice without adequate safeguards, and the blurred lines between public duty and private profit. When lives are lost in the course of interventions that are otherwise considered safe, the question is not whether complications can occur; they can, anywhere but whether systems exist to recognise, respond and prevent those complications from becoming fatal.
The reality is stark as the critical care and emergency support are often missing in private facilities where surgeries are carried out. Anaesthesia-related complications, bleeding, infection, or thromboembolic events demand immediate intervention, yet many centres lack the infrastructure or trained personnel to deliver it. Women’s health has become particularly vulnerable in this environment, with fertility treatments and gynaecological procedures increasingly commodified. What should be medical decisions are too often shaped by business imperatives, leaving patients exposed to risks they neither anticipate nor are adequately informed about.
Equally troubling is the evidence of government doctors performing surgeries in private hospitals during official hours. This practice not only undermines accountability but also compromises patient safety. A surgeon rushing back to sign out at a government facility cannot simultaneously ensure proper follow-up and emergency care for a patient left behind in a private ward. Such breaches of ethics erode trust and weaken the very foundations of public health delivery.
Beyond the immediate questions of negligence and infrastructure, the larger issue is the absence of a transparent regulatory framework for private healthcare in Kashmir. Licensing and accreditation processes remain opaque, and inspections are sporadic. Without a system of continuous monitoring, hospitals can operate with varying standards of preparedness, leaving patients exposed to uneven levels of safety. A robust mechanism that enforces compliance with emergency protocols and critical care availability is essential to ensure that private facilities meet the same standards expected of public institutions.
Another dimension is the lack of a clear grievance redressal system for patients and families. When complications occur, inquiries are ordered, but the outcomes are rarely communicated publicly. This silence breeds mistrust and fuels speculation. Families deserve clarity on whether lapses were identified, what corrective measures were taken, and whether accountability was enforced.
Healthcare is not a commodity, and interventions must be guided by medical necessity rather than profit. Women, who form the majority of patients undergoing fertility and gynaecological procedures, are particularly vulnerable to unnecessary interventions driven by commercial motives. Safeguarding their health requires not only infrastructure and oversight but also a reaffirmation of medical ethics. Every intervention must be justified, every complication anticipated, and every life protected by systems designed to respond without delay.
The administration has occasionally acted by sealing centres, barring doctors, issuing directives but deterrence alone is insufficient. What is needed is a comprehensive action plan that enforces strict monitoring of private facilities, mandates emergency preparedness as a prerequisite for surgical clearance, and establishes a transparent redress mechanism for complaints. Every inquiry must lead to visible accountability. Reports cannot be filed away; they must translate into corrective measures that restore confidence in the system.
Healthcare cannot be left to chance as women undergoing routine interventions cannot be left at the mercy of inadequate systems. Safeguarding lives requires more than surgical skill; it demands infrastructure, ethics and oversight. Until critical care and emergency support become non-negotiable standards, every death in a private hospital will remain not just a personal tragedy but a public indictment of systemic failure.
