Since the diagnostic tests are recommended randomly by doctors for the purposes of proper investigation before the treatment , the charges for these tests should been far far less in government run hospitals than the private diagnostic centres but the charges at the government hospitals are slightly less than private diagnostic centres. Now when the charges for diagnostic tests are compared with other parts of the country, the residents of Jammu & Kashmir have to pay more than the people in other states and union territories. Though charges for the diagnostic tests should have been highest in Delhi the Union capital and far far less in Jammu & Kashmir keeping in view the life standards of the union capital and those of Kashmir or Jammu. While in Delhi the diagonastic tests are conducted free of cost in government run hospitals and private diagnostic centres are paid for tests including MRI, CT scan and Imaging by the Delhi government in case of Delhi residents referred for tests by the government run hospitals there , the residents in Jammu & Kashmir are still charged for diagnostic tests in government run hospitals both in urban and rural areas. Shockingly even during the ongoing crisis of covid-19 pandemic the J&K residents are charged for the diagnostic tests in government run hospitals even if they belong to low income groups popularly called “people of BPL category”. Surprisingly there is no uniformity in charges fixed for diagnostic tests at health department controlled hospitals and the hospitals controlled by the Medical Education Department like Government Medical College Srinagar and Associated Hospitals. Since Financial Commissioner Health & Medical Education is the single administrative controlling authority for the twin departments of health and medical education, uniformity in the rates for the diagnostic tests in the hospitals lying under the administrative control of both the health and medical education departments should have been a priority keeping in view the uniformity in both the working and as well as delivery of services of both the departments. Uniformity not only in the rates of the diagnostic tests in the hospitals of both the health and medical education departments but uniformity by them should have been shown also in the availability of life saving drugs.
The most ticklish issue is the challenge of uniformity in the delivery of services at the hospitals controlled by both the health and medical education departments. A strong vigil of the administrative controlling authority from on delivery of services and facilities in the hospitals of both the health and medical education departments is required in the ongoing intensifying second strain of covid-19 pandemic.
Ironically Financial Commissioner Health & Medical Education the sole administrative controlling authority overseeing the working of both the health and medical education departments does not respond even to the complaints over the shortage of immunization injections during campaigns of immunization for children in the hospitals run by the twin departments. The lack of assertiveness shown by the single administrative controlling authority in enforcing uniformity in the delivery of services and facilities in the hospitals controlled by both the twin departments shows the poor management of government’s health care system in Jammu & Kashmir. The most ticklish issue is the challenge of uniformity in the delivery of services at the hospitals controlled by both the health and medical education departments. A strong vigil of the administrative controlling authority from on delivery of services and facilities in the hospitals of both the health and medical education departments is required in the ongoing intensifying second strain of covid-19 pandemic.
