Kashmir Wire Service
Srinagar
Hospitals are a reflection of the progress achieved by a state. Even though city hospitals are important as they cater to the needs of the whole state, district hospitals are even more important as they are the first places people go to seek medical help. Delay in medical attention can often be a matter of life and death.
The District Hospital Islamabad, with its prime location, sees a huge rush of patients every day, as the winter already stepped in but district hospital Islamabad is still unable to install heating arrangements as well as lacks other basic facilities, locals said
Patients and the attendants inside district hospital said that patients are facing huge inconvenience due to lack of heating arrangement. They said, at the night patients admitted in the hospital shiver and are forced to leave the hospital due to non-availability of proper heating system in the hospital. “They have provided small blowers which are not enough to provide heat for the full ward,” said one of the elderly attendants.
Reports said that long waiting lines are a common sight in the district hospital Islamabad. Getting a consultation within an hour or two is a miracle. People often have to wait for an entire day before they get to see a doctor.
One of the patients standing on a queue says that, one should only go to the district hospital if no other options are available. Due to the crowd, it takes lesser time to reach a city hospital than it takes to get a consultation in the district hospital.
The hospital is so overcrowded that it has become a safe haven for thieves and pickpockets. “While standing on a queue I was relieved of hard earned money which I had kept for my husband’s treatment who is admitted here, said one of the female attendants.
Medical authorities Islamabad while talking to Kashmir wire said that they have provided small blowers inside the wards, one blower for one row. “As 15th of November is the exact date we have been instructed to operate heating systems inside wards,” he added.
