Chest Diseases Hospital without lift, patients suffer

Srinagar, Feb 26: In what can only be described as a shocking oversight, Kashmir's only specialised Chest Diseases Hospital at Dalgate has been operating without a lift facility, putting respiratory patients through unnecessary hardship.

In response to the RTI filed by a social activist MM Shuja, where the Medical Superintendent explicitly confirmed that "CD hospital has no lift facility."

The irony is particularly stark considering the hospital treated over 120,317 patients in 2023 and 116,720 in 2024, with thousands requiring admission for serious respiratory conditions.

"It's heartbreaking to see patients struggling to climb stairs while gasping for breath," said Mohammad Asif, whose father was recently admitted to the first floor. "How can a specialised respiratory care facility not have basic infrastructure like elevators?"

The 106-bed facility, equipped with 20 ventilators, 20 non-invasive ventilators, and one transport ventilator, recorded 294 deaths in 2023 and 263 in 2024.

A pulmonologist affiliated with the hospital expressed concern about the situation. "Patients with severe COPD or respiratory distress shouldn't be climbing stairs. It's medically contraindicated and potentially dangerous," he said.

Visitors to the hospital regularly witness distressing scenes of attendants physically carrying wheelchair-bound patients up steep stairs while simultaneously managing oxygen cylinders. For patients already struggling with breathlessness, the steep internal staircases only exacerbate their condition.

This infrastructure gap had previously prompted discussions about relocating the facility to the former GB Pant Hospital building in Sonawar, which earlier housed a children's hospital before it moved to a larger facility at Bemina.

However, during a visit in early 2025, Minister for Health and Medical Education Sakeena Itoo rejected this plan, calling it "unrealistic and fraught with shortsighted approach."

"The GB Pant facility has serious shortfalls that make it unsuitable for respiratory care, particularly inadequate oxygen capacity," the Minister stated. She clarified that no such proposal was currently under consideration by her government.

Following these developments, the government has requested a report from GMC Srinagar regarding the construction of a new building at the current Chest Diseases Hospital location. Officials were directed to examine the issue and submit recommendations to the Health and Medical Education Department.

A project worth Rs 15.92 crore was approved back in 2019, which included major infrastructure development including vertical expansion to add five floors with modern facilities, central heating, proper electrification, and crucially, "provision of ramp and lift facility."

"Since the 2019 approval, nothing apart from papers and proposals regarding the hospital's overdue overhaul have moved forward," lamented a senior doctor at the facility, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Meanwhile, our patients continue to suffer unnecessarily."