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| Of J&K's ailing hospitals, compromised health care and ITC award | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 7: Although the Ministry of Health is celebrating its success at the India Today Conclave (ITC) which conferred the best managed state award on Jammu Kashmir, the ailing hospitals of the state mock at Conclave and the award.
The India Today survey ranked Jammu and Kashmir as best managed State in the healthcare all over the country. Jammu and Kashmir jumped 14 spots to reach No. 1 this year as compared to 14th spot last year.
For the information of the Conclave, the state of Jammu Kashmir tops the list for the highest number of deaths in road accidents. The state that has been awarded for best healthcare services lacks a critical care ambulance.
A report on accident deaths and suicides said 63.5 percent deaths due to unnatural causes are due to road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir, the highest in any state. The experts have been seeking ambulances equipped with life support system and skilled medical personnel. It has come to fore that the injured succumb on way to the hospital due to loss of blood. The so-called ambulances that are seen plying on the roads are meant for carrying the bodies. These ill equipped vehicles are very risky for a trauma patient. The critical care ambulances can make a difference and go a long way in saving precious lives.
The negligence of the authorities is reflected by the death of 30 patients due to the strike of the doctors in the SKIMS in 2012.
The documents show that 3400 deaths have occurred in the Valley's lone Super Specialty Hospital from January 2011 to July 31, 2012.The neurosurgery department, documents reveal heads the list with 714 deaths. It is followed by neurology with 626 deaths and urology department with 602 deaths. According to CAG report there is acute shortage of drugs in the hospital. Even normal saline (glucose) is not available in the Super Specialty Hospital. The patients have to purchase it from the market. Curiously the Institute purchases drugs worth crores of rupees every year but the patients have to rush to the market for most of the medicines, a senior doctor said.
The mortality rate attracted the attention of the former Speaker, Muhammad Akber Lone. He constituted a committee of the members of the House to investigate the alarming death rate. The committee has not submitted its report.
The hospital even compromises on the quality of oxygen. There was a time when the Oxygen Plant stopped working properly which affected the purity of oxygen. "The concerned engineer had informed the Director SKIMS bringing into his notice the mal-functioning of the Oxygen Plant. However, the Director ignored him and thus compromised on the purity of oxygen," they alleged. The report was submitted to the authorities by the concerned engineer on July 3 about the "low purity of newly-installed oxygen concentrator plant", describing the matter as "most urgent." The report reveals the plant was functioning satisfactorily up to June 25, 2012 after which the "purity of the plant started decreasing." As against the standard purity of 95 plus minus 1 percent, the purity of the plant "is continuously showing a decreasing trend and is presently fluctuating between 72 to 77 per cent", the report said. There is no denying the fact that dispensaries and primary health centers have come out across the state but unless proper infrastructure and staff are made available, no purpose can be served.
The Swine Flu threat also exposed the hollowness of the healthcare system in the state. It seems that the state government allegedly managed the award through `match fixing'. The people who conferred the award on the state need to be asked what criteria they had adopted while awarding the state.
The state hospitals are not equipped to cater to emergencies like the one triggered by the H1N1 virus. |
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