Accountability is blamed for all the mess in working of health care facilities putting the hapless patients at the receiving end in all the valley hospitals including the associated hospitals of Government Medical College Srinagar and SKIMS remains the only hope due to better accountability of the doctors, paramedics and nursing staff. While there is no dearth of basic infrastructure in the associated hospitals of Government Medical College Srinagar and district and Sub district hospitals in Kashmir valley the patients don’t get the attention they deserve from doctors, paramedics and nurses and more so during nights. Better accountability in hospitals holds key to better attention and consequently the better treatment in Government hospitals. Allegations are galore that without seriously attending the patients the doctors at the associated hospitals of Government Medical College Srinagar and district and Sub district hospitals refer the patients suffering from critical ailments to SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS Soura). Such a non serious precedence set by the doctors in attending and treating patients suffering from critical ailments is giving people a sense of hopelessness amid rising health consciousness among the people of Jammu & Kashmir. So doctors working at Government hospitals owe explanations to the people of Jammu & Kashmir for changing health consciousness of the people into their hopelessness and it is for the government now to invoke a much stronger system of accountability in the Government hospitals to generate sense of accountability and answerability among doctors and other health workers including paramedics and nurses. Punishment to irresponsible and unaccountable doctors and paramedics should have been issue of as much a greater concern for the Government as is the unauthorised absence of doctors in government hospitals. While rosters for night duties in government hospitals are not as strictly implemented as they should have been, most of the private hospitals don’t even bother to follow the routine practice of issuing rosters for night duties of doctors and paramedics engaged by them from time to time.
Since the huge referrals from the associated hospitals of Government Medical College Srinagar and district and sub district hospitals are mounting tremendous pressure on S K Institute Of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) beyond it’s capacity, institutionalising accountability and increasing regulation of the working of health facilities in both government private hospitals could be the parts of a two pronged strategy required improve the delivery of health facilities in Jammu & Kashmir .
Government doctors are working at private hospitals in non working hours only to see patients reporting to them at Government hospitals in day time turning up for surgeries at private hospitals in the evening hours. Never forget that surgeons after retirement from health & medical education departments also conduct surgeries over and above the age of 70 years when their eyesight is not fit for surgeries. Never forget that deaths of patients due to failures in surgeries are also reported from private hospitals day in and day out but such deaths are never probed for causes of punishment to the culprits. While Physicians can be allowed to run private clinics even over and above the age of 70 years but allowing surgeons to conduct surgeries after cross the age of 70 years is almost suicidal. So regulation of the appointment of doctors and paramedics. Since the huge referrals from the associated hospitals of Government Medical College Srinagar and district and sub district hospitals are mounting tremendous pressure on S K Institute Of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) beyond it’s capacity, institutionalising accountability and increasing regulation of the working of health facilities in both government private hospitals could be the parts of a two pronged strategy required improve the delivery of health facilities in Jammu & Kashmir.
