“The matters demanding bigger attention of the administrative secretary of the health & medical educations are mostly about the institutional working and infrastructural facilities at both Government and private hospitals.”
Accessibility of people to quality healthcare services is though a top priority of the Jammu & Kashmir Government but priorities for improving the institutional working and infrastructural facilities have not seen light of day at both the Government and as well as the private hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir. With Syed Abid Rasheed Shah a young local IAS officer taking over the position of Administrative Secretary Health & Medical Education Department the people of Jammu & Kashmir look forward to improvement in the institutional working and infrastructural facilities both at Government and as well as private hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir. Though patient care at both Government and Private hospitals is the primary concern of the people but it can be best improved by the Medical Superintendent and a Block Medical Officer in case of Government hospital and head of a private hospital in case of private hospitals with close vigil over it’s working from offices of Health Directorates in Srinagar and Jammu. The matters demanding bigger attention of the administrative secretary of the health & medical educations are mostly about the institutional working and infrastructural facilities at both Government and private hospitals which if improved would reduce the rising trends of referrals from the different hospitals of the districts to top referral hospitals of twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu. Experiences show that had the previous governments established full fledged maternity and paediatric centres at the district hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir, the referrals to maternity and paediatric hospitals in twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu from different hospitals of the districts won’t have unprecedentedly increased and in fact it would have shown an unprecedented decline. While major cause of the unprecedented rise in referrals at major referral hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu from different hospitals of districts is the lack of infrastructural facilities and shortage of doctors and paramedics at hospitals in the districts, the unprecedented rise in bed occupancy levels at major referral hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu triggered by the rise in referrals from districts due to lack of institutional and infrastructural facilities is also badly hitting the patient care facilities at major referral hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu.
“Since lack of infrastructural facilities at Government hospitals and malfunctioning at private hospitals are the bigger causes of rise in referrals at major referral in Srinagar and Jammu, the turnaround strategy for improving the institutional working and infrastructural facilities of both the Government and private hospitals if accorded highest priority will hopefully take Government nearer to the target of quality healthcare services in Jammu & Kashmir. Since the incumbent Chief Secretary Attal Dulloo has himself headed the health and medical education department during high intensity covid periods, his better handling of the covid situation keeps alive the hopes of major improvement in J&K’s health sector”.
Both the doctors and as well as the patients are seen hanging their heads in shame to see 3-4 patients sharing just one bed in the wards at the major referral hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu. Another factor concerning the increasing stress on major referral hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu is the malfunctioning at private hospitals where night OPDs are not functioning at all due to which the OPDs at the Government hospitals come under huge stress in odd times during nights. Let the Government not ignore this fact also that more than 90% of the Government hospitals in the districts don’t have the facilities of conducing City Scan and MRI tests for which also the patients are being referred to major referral hospitals of Srinagar and Jammu. Since lack of infrastructural facilities at Government hospitals and malfunctioning at private hospitals are the bigger causes of rise in referrals at major referral in Srinagar and Jammu, the turnaround strategy for improving the institutional working and infrastructural facilities of both the Government and private hospitals if accorded highest priority will hopefully take Government nearer to the target of quality healthcare services in Jammu & Kashmir. Since the incumbent Chief Secretary Attal Dulloo has himself headed the health and medical education department during high intensity covid periods, his better handling of the covid situation keeps alive the hopes of major improvement in J&K’s health sector.
