“The sanctioned strength of posts is much higher than the physical availability of doctors at rural hospitals due to reduced focus on recruitment of both the Medical Officers and as well as the B-Grade specialists.”
The rural urban inequalities in health facilities are as good a reality in Jammu & Kashmir today as it was decades ago. Endorsing the ground realities of the public health system of Jammu & Kashmir none else than Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while distributing the appointment letters among the recently selected Medical Officer at an official event recently at SKICC Srinagar attributed the unending migration of rural population to urban areas to increasing inequalities in health facilities particularly the availability doctors at rural hospitals. While Chief Minister very rightly attributed the shortage of doctors at rural hospitals to the increasing interest of doctors in their postings in urban hospitals more so in the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu, it is also an irrefutable fact that the sanctioned strength of posts is much higher than the physical availability of doctors at rural hospitals due to reduced focus on recruitment of both the Medical Officers and as well as the B-Grade specialists. In fact not only the availability of doctors but lack of infrastructural facilities is also contributing to the inaccessibility of people to healthcare facilities in rural hospitals. Infrastructural facilities even at main referral hospitals in twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu and most of the associated hospitals in medical colleges in other districts are in such a severe state of crisis that 4-5 patients are forced to share a single bed even in the main referral hospitals. Fortunately the Minister holding the portfolio of Health & Medical Education and as well as the Administrative Secretary of Health & Medical Education Department have been themselves students of Medical Sciences but unfortunately they are yet to take calls on availability of doctors and upgradation of infrastructural facilities at both the rural and urban hospitals.
“The situation of public health facilities in rural and as well as urban hospitals demands and deserves immediate attention and intervention of the Government at the highest level. A call on reducing the lapses through systemic reforms for the availability of key health equipments and availability of doctors at both rural and urban hospitals could be the beginning for revamping the public health system in Jammu & Kashmir. Any further delay on revamping the public health system would obviously be tantamount to risking lives of the people at Government hospitals more intensely in rural areas than urban parts of Jammu & Kashmir. “
While it is an irrefutable fact that the Minister holding the portfolio of Health and Medical Education Department has recently taken charge of the department but the Administrative Secretary of the Department is overseeing its working for a long time now. The situation of public health facilities in rural and as well as urban hospitals demands and deserves immediate attention and intervention of the Government at the highest level. A call on reducing the lapses through systemic reforms for the availability of key health equipments and availability of doctors at both rural and urban hospitals could be the beginning for revamping the public health system in Jammu & Kashmir. Any further delay on revamping the public health system would obviously be tantamount to risking lives of the people at Government hospitals more intensely in rural areas than urban parts of Jammu & Kashmir.
