Bridging Distances in Healthcare
Couple of years back the paediatrics facility at Sonwar Srinagar, which being the associated hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar was shifted to the newly constructed hospital at Bemina Srinagar, given its enhancement to five-hundred beds there and also in view of the fact that the facility at Sonwar Srinagar had no scope of further expansion to cater to the huge rush of pediatric populace.
The move though welcomed by one and all, gave a sigh of relief to the people and mostly welcomed by people of north and adjacent parts of central Kashmir, as the new facility being on national highway would cut their travel time to some extent, earlier supposed to navigate through huge traffic mess. However for the people of Sonwar and adjacent areas the complete shifting of the facility caused some inconvenience.
Subsequently, shifting of Chest Disease hospital to Sonwar was also contemplated; OPD services shifted in the first phase, obviously this would have been done after taking all the stakeholders on board and getting a nod from the technical persons catering to the respective specialization of patient care. However the recent announcement of having no proposal to shift the facility to Sonwar, citing improper requirements, underlines the lack of synergy.
The successful commissioning of new paediatrics hospital though have achieved a remarkable milestone, showcasing the exceptional pediatric facilities available at one place, however the facility could have been utilized under the aegis of SKIMS, Bemina running adjacent to this facility.
The aim should be to pave way for establishment of multi-disciplinary specialization of medical services of Government Medical College Srinagar at one place and under one roof, assembling all the facilities scattered across the city; like Pediatrics at Bemina Srinagar, Orthopedics at Barzulla Srinagar, Chest Disease Hospital at Dalgate; Pscyhiatric Disease Hospital at Rainawari Srinagar, L.D Hospital at Wazir Bagh Srinagar; to bring them closer to other facilities of Govt Medical College like Super-Specialty, Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Dermatology etc etc, on the pattern of AIIMS New Delhi and SKIMS, Soura.
This may align with ensuring advanced services of different specializations of the GMC under one roof and also cater to the vast population by bringing these state-of-the-art medical services closer to it. It could also help in providing a convenient wide-range of medical services to patients. The hospitals presently housing such facilities, if evacuated, might be brought under the ambit of the Department of Health Services.
The move seeming to be an uphill task may envision a step to embark on an ambitious journey to shape the healthcare landscape of Government Medical College Srinagar, envisaged to play a crucial role in medical research and innovation in advanced healthcare and also in addressing the geographical hallmark.
