by Syed Abul Aala Bukhari
BUDGAM: The poor healthcare facilities at Government District Hospital Budgam have left patients distraught.
The hospital, which caters to hundreds of far-flung villages in the district, often has conspicuously absent doctors.
A patient said that due to poor healthcare facilities they face a lot of hardships. “Today, I came to the hospital at 9 am but there was no doctor available. I got a doctor at 11 am. However, the problems aren’t just confined to mornings. Usually, after 4 pm there are just a few doctors available which hamper the functioning of the hospital during night hours.”
There are many tests that aren’t being conducted at the hospital including very basic pathology and thyroid tests. The Ultrasound, which is among the basic tests, isn’t conducted during the night hours leading to patients being referred to Srinagar.
There is a lack of doctors including Neurologists, Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, and Nephrologists. The Neurology ward is functioning without a consultant while the Dialysis ward is also without a Nephrology consultant.
The patients also complain about the lack of operation theatre facilities.
Another patient said that due to a lack of infrastructure and space crunch patients are often referred to Srinagar for treatment.
He said that due to the lack of parking spaces at the hospital and the blocked road towards the hospital, emergency patients often suffer.
He said that the locals have donated land to construct a new hospital building but to no avail. Hundreds of trees on this land had been axed by the administration.
The delay in the construction of the new building comes even after Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole sanctioned this project in May 2021.
Pole had claimed that the new building would come up once the Covid-19 pandemic subsides.
Divisional Commissioner had also said that the Surgery and Psychiatry Departments would be established in which specialist doctors and well-trained staff will be made available around the clock.
The new hospital being constructed at a cost of Rs 160 crore would have state-of-the-art healthcare facilities including a refurbished-Out Patients Department, In-Patients Department, Intensive Care Unit, diagnostic laboratories, operation theatres, and disaster management facilities, in addition to an oxygen substation.
Meanwhile the Medical Superintendent of District Hospital Budgam Dr Ayoub Fatehkhan said that the hospital is not a tertiary care hospital which usually has better facilities.
On the non-availability of doctors, Dr Ayoub Fatehkhan said that the charge is baseless as the doctors are available round the clock.
He said the posts of doctors sanctioned by the government are already filled at the hospital while the one’s not available haven’t yet been sanctioned. “In the Dialysis unit, there is no need for a Nephrology consultant. Well-trained technicians are enough and the hospital has them.”
He said that the hospital not being a tertiary one doesn’t require the posts of Neurologists, Dermatologists, and Plastic Surgeons.
However, he said that the hospital is in need of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for maternity patients who require surgeries. “If these maternity patients aren’t shifted to Srinagar, they can die.”
He said that due to a lack of around Rs 70 lakh odd the Intensive Care Unit facilities couldn’t be started at the hospital
He admitted that the hospital is facing a space crunch. “Due to lack of space, we don’t have room to maintain records while many new laboratory machines are lying outside the wards.”
He said the shortage of space also has added to patients being referred to Srinagar. “The maximum number of patients we refer in a month is 10. These are accidental cases or other emergency cases. Also, in some cases, ICU patients are shifted to Srinagar.”
On Ultrasound not being conducted during night hours, Dr Ayoub Fatehkhan said the issue is there because the hospital has only one Radiologist whose shift ends in the evening.
He said the new hospital building sanctioned would ease the burden while better facilities would also be available.
