SRINAGAR: Kashmir political leaders on Fridays submitted a memorandum to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, wherein they stated that at least 1201 posts are vacant at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar.
The memorandum was handed over by Dr Farooq Abdullah (JKNC), MY Tarigami (CPI M) and Dr Mehboob Beg (JK PDP) when they called on Lg Manoj Sinha at Srinagar Raj Bhawan.
The vacant posts include 115 faculty posts, 149 Gazetted posts, 870 Non-Gazetted posts and 67 other positions for Senior and Junior Residents.
According to the memorandum the institution is currently facing 50% of shortage in all technical and nursing staff and the recruitment process has not taken place for the last seven years.
Besides the shortage of staff, the memorandum also reads, “SKIMS has also been facing a distinctive challenge due to inadequate infrastructure and funds. Only one out of the three CT scan machines present there is fully functional, an MRI machine is out of the order as well,” the memorandum reads.
SKIMS being one of the biggest health institutions of Kashmir which deals with most of the Cancer patients from across the valley also lacks the availability of the Linear Accelerator which is important for administrating radiations to the patients suffering from Cancer, they said in the memorandum.
According to the memorandum, the gynae hospital functioning under the SKIMS administration is also facing space crunch.
It further reads, “The institute has not made any significant advancement in robotic surgery owing to the financial constraints. Of Rs 400 crore annual budget, around 70 percent is spent on the salaries.”
It also highlights how other hospitals are also facing similar issues, “Hundreds of posts are lying vacant in SMHS, Srinagar and Children’s Hospital, Bemina. The top floor of the ward building of Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla, the only such hospital in Kashmir, was damaged in a fire incident in 2022, but the hospital continues to operate out of the same of same building.
It further reads that although the construction work on an additional 120 bedded block, funded by the World Bank has been taken up three years ago, it is yet to be completed. The building has missed several deadlines thus far.”
It also asserts how the district-level hospitals face challenges in absence of a radio therapy facilities forcing cancer patients to seek treatment from Srinagar or outside Kashmir incurring very high costs.
The leaders have asked for swift filling of the posts to provide good patient care.”
“The shortage of manpower has not only placed additional strain on the existing staff in the SKIMS and other hospitals but also raises concerns over the quality of care being provided to the patients. It is important that the vacant slots be filled on fast track basis to ensure the seamless functioning of these premier hospitals,” they said.
According to an official spokesman, the Lt Governor assured the members of the delegation that the UT Administration is committed to health for all and manpower issues raised by the delegation will be addressed on priority and in a time-bound manner. He said, under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, unprecedented health infrastructure has come up in J&K in the last 3 years.
“Due to our consistent efforts, today J&K has one of the best public health care facilities in the country. The UT administration is working with sensitivity to ensure the common man has access to quality healthcare and our performance on 10 health parameters are better than the national average, which is a testimony to our commitment of quality of life and transformation in the health sector of Union Territory,” the Lt Governor observed.
The Lt Governor further noted that more than Rs. 7000 Crores have been spent strengthening health infrastructure and Rs. 881 Crore to upgrade the dilapidated infra in districts. With 2 new AIIMS, 7 new medical colleges, 5 new nursing colleges, upgradation of 10 nursing colleges and 2 Bone & Joint hospitals, Jammu Kashmir is redefining healthcare delivery system in the Country. 2 state-of-the-art cancer institutes are also coming up, one each in Jammu and Srinagar, and MoU with Tata Cancer Institute has been signed to provide best care and ensure trained manpower. The work on Bone & Joint Hospital, Srinagar has been expedited and is expected to be completed by end of this year.
Dialysis facilities are available in every District Hospital, besides universal health coverage of Rs Five Lakh is provided to every household of Jammu Kashmir under Ayushman Bharat-SEHAT Scheme. Around 98% population has access to Ayushman Bharat, which has proved to be a boon to the poor, marginalized section of society as well as the middle class. Earlier there was no facility for critical care ambulances, however, it is now available round the clock across the Union Territory.
