Peerzada Arshad Hamid

Srinagar

Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad while inaugurating the academic block at Government Dental College in Jammu, the winter capital of the state last week announced that government has plans to construct 32 district and sub-district hospitals across the state within 15 to 18 months. The seriousness of the government to deliver on the health front is really a welcome step. But such efforts should be initiated first by fully equipping the already existing health centers rather than constructing new ones for show off purpose and vote-bank politics.  

Already the health scenario in Jammu and Kashmir is battling in chaos. Hundreds of the precious lives are lost every year in Jammu and Kashmir because of the lack of basic health facilities available to the people. The mortality rate is higher among pregnant women. Most of these women in the far flung areas remain unattended during the crucial pre and post-delivery stages. Even today in the hilly areas of the state, the job of the midwife is generally performed unscientifically by the inexperienced hands.

Even in the district and sub-district hospitals, pregnancy cases are not handled properly. The medicos at these centres often rely on referring the patients to premier health institutes for minor complicacies. That often cause unnecessary burden on the premier institutes and thus result in hampering of services.

The worst example in this regard is Lal Ded Hospital of Srinagar. Every day after the dusk, ambulances from district headquarters bring six to seven patients to the hospital. The rush often results in adjusting two patients on a single bed, besides occupying the floor as well.

The officials at the sud-district and district hospitals argue that they lack facilities to perform cesarean and hence are left with no chance but to refer the patients to the only maternity hospital in valley. 

The casualties due to rabies infections follow the mortality rates in pregnant women closely. Individuals who fail to take anti-rabies vaccination within the stipulated time of 14 days of animal-bite, fall in this category. Here again people living in hilly and tough terrains are more prone to domestic as well as wild animal attacks.

Since the rabies antidote is not available in the hospitals, people often have to purchase such costly vaccines from the market.

So far government’s efforts to provide at least basic facilities to people have failed to yield results. Still most of the Primary Health Centres in the state are either having no pre- natal facilities or don’t have a gynecologist at all. These are just first-aid centres that often remain closed.

There is a need to formulate a health policy that should ensure proper infrastructure and adequate medical and para-medical staff at existing health ecntres.

Only when government is able to strengthen the existing centres, it should take up the construction of new ones otherwise it makes no difference when you have hospitals without trained staff and other infrastructure.