CM Omar pledges to fulfill Sheikh Abdullah’s medical tourism blueprint for SKIMS

Srinagar, Dec 5: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday vowed to support and empower Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, to drive its growth, reaffirming his commitment to realising his grandfather Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s vision of SKIMS as the premier medical institute for J&K and a hub of medical tourism in India.

While recounting the farsightedness of the founder of SKIMS, the former Prime Minister of J&K Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, CM Omar said that medical tourism at SKIMS had been envisaged by him in an era dating back to over 40 decades.

He was speaking at the 42nd annual day event of SKIMS.

“Today, big corporate hospitals are talking about medical tourism, but the first institute in India to envision and work towards medical tourism was SKIMS, Soura,” the CM said.

He said 400 kanal of land on the banks of Anchar Lake were allocated for creating the infrastructure of medical tourism under SKIMS, Soura.

“The original blueprint of SKIMS is amply clear that by the banks of Anchar Lake, there would be cottages and huts, to enjoy both nature and world-class medical facilities,” CM Omar said. “The land is still available with the institute. If things go well, we hope we will be able to fulfil the dream that Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah had for medical tourism.”

He lauded SKIMS, Soura, for being the epitome of healthcare in J&K despite the challenges it faced.

“Despite the shortage of funds, constraints of equipment, inadequate staff, SKIMS has contributed beyond measures,” the CM said.

He said that the institute was the vision and dream of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, who wanted healthcare for people in J&K to be at par with AIIMS, New Delhi, and PGIMER, Chandigarh.

“It pained him to see people from here facing hardships while seeking treatments outside. So, he envisaged SKIMS Soura, which became the most trusted name in the healthcare sector of J&K,” CM Omar said.

He highlighted that SKIMS was envisaged as a tertiary care hospital and act as the referral hospital, but the load of patients was the biggest challenge that the hospital faces.

“It is because the hospitals outside Srinagar refer even those cases to SKIMS, Soura, that can be very well catered to at other healthcare service delivery levels. If people are sent to SKIMS, Soura, for gallbladder and appendicitis surgery, it will continue to pose problems for healthcare delivery here. On one hand, it is important to strengthen SKIMS, but it is equally important that the patient flow to SKIMS is also addressed,” the CM said.

He said he was aware that SKIMS Soura’s autonomy had been compromised and this posed challenges in the functioning of the institute.

“I have pledged that my government will provide all the support and freedom to the institute to ensure seamless functioning and advancement of healthcare,” CM Omar said. “Health Minister Sakeena Masood has been part of these discussions.”

He said that the procurement of supplies, the issue of long-pending recruitments of faculty and other staff, the shortage of nursing staff, and the issue of delayed supplies would be addressed.

“It is we who have tied up your hands behind your backs, and we will have to untie your hands so that you can deliver the best possible healthcare at this institute,” the CM said.

He recounted that during his previous stint as the CM, he had kept SKIMS on the top of his priority list.

On an emotional note, CM Omar recounted how he spent time at SKIMS, Soura, during the Delta Wave of COVID-19 as an attendant of his father Farooq Abdullah.

“It was a deadly wave and my father had some comorbidities. We were worried for him,” he said.

The CM said he was offered an air ambulance by the government at the centre for transporting his sick father for treatment in a hospital outside J&K.

“Farooq Sahab declined the offer and said that he would get the best possible treatment only at SKIMS Soura,” he said. “This proved right as Dr Sahab was able to walk out of the hospital after recovering in just five and a half days. Such is the trust SKIMS Soura enjoys and such is the expertise it is bestowed with.”