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| Cure ailing health sector in J&K | | | It was in middle of November last year that
the then Government headed by Omar
Abdullah had made a solemn commitment on the expansion of health facilities in Jammu and Kashmir. He had promised that health care system would receive new impetus so that quality health care was available to the people not only in the cities and towns but in the remote rural areas. But with the change of guard following defeat of the National Conference and the Congress in the Assembly election Omar Abdullah had failed to fulfill his commitment. The right expression could be that Omar was not allowed to implement his commitment because he lost power would soon receive a fillip. Whatever plans he had formulated could not be completed during the time he headed the Government. And had he been able to implement the plan the state would have witnessed positive revolution in health care because under his plan the state was to achieve the goal of providing accessible and quality healthcare to the people particularly living in far-flung villages and remote areas. His plan also included making latest equipment and machines installed in hospitals should fully utilized for treatment of patients.
What happened to the proposal which Omar led Government had framed ? The proposal was to set up 600 new sub-centres. The new sub-centres, including 238 in hilly and remote areas, will be in addition to 122 hospital projects on which work was on at an estimated cost of Rs 1481.62 crore.
What happened to these projects ? Nobody knows. Even the PDP-BJP Coalition government has no knowledge about it because the coalition Government is faced with new challenges to its health care system. It was the result of what is called ailing health sector that provoked the National Panthers Party to stage protest demonstrations in Jammu where the PP activists torched the effigy of the Health Minister. If the Panthers Party Chief, Harsh Dev Singh, is to be believed the health sector in Jammu and Kashmir had been hit hard not by the activities of militants but by the "I care least" attitude of the Coalition government in general and the health minister in particular. Not to talk about the health centres in the rural areas most of the hospitals and dispensaries not only in the villages but in the twin capital cities and major towns continue to be ill equipped for providing suitable treatment to the patients. In the towns and twin capital cities those ailing with one health problem or the other bank on private nursing homes and clinics set up by even doctors serving in the medical colleges. The result is that senior doctors continue to play truant and are not available to the patients for most of the time because they are seen minting money in their private clinics.
It would be better for the state Government and the dynamic Health Minister, Lal Singh, to set up a committee of experts, comprising retired prominent doctors, to examine the entire gamut of the health sector. The committee be asked to suggest ways and means for toning up health care system in the state. At present there is acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff not only in health centres and dispensaries in the rural areas but even in the medical colleges, hospitals. There is acute shortage of medicines and whatever stuff is available, Harsh Dev Singh has alleged, has been found to be spurious. Though the Government has invested huge sums of money in the past on purchasing equipments and machines but these equipments are either not used because of shortage of technicians or these machines have developed fault. Hence the committee of experts should suggest to the Government ways and means for resolving the shortage of doctors and paramedical staff. Suggestions are needed for ending the menace of spurious drugs which are available not only in the open market but in the Government run hospitals. For keeping all equipment and machines, including X-ray plants, ultrasound machines, MRIs etc the health department should sign with the companies, an agreement on annual maintenance so that these machines remain functional. It would be better for political leders, especially those belonging to the BJP, to avoid shedding tears on central Government's delay in setting up one AIIMS in Jammu. Let the BJP initiate measures for making the health sector vibrant and vigorous. |
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