Govt order leaves patients at critical Srinagar hospitals in lurch

Srinagar, Apr 29: The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Lal Ded Hospital, the largest maternity hospital of Kashmiris set to lose three of its four paediatricians, while the Hemophilia Center, the only one in Kashmir is without a qualified doctor. The recent Government order to relieve Directorate of Health Services Kashmir doctors from their places of posting in various GMC Srinagar’s Associated Hospitals is a crisis in the making.

The NICU of Lal Ded Hospital admits nearly 3000 neonates in a month as per official documents. The 33 ICU beds have double, “sometimes even triple” occupancy, the document says. “Despite this enormous pressure, the NICU continues to operate with minimal staff, " reads the document addressed to GMC Srinagar Principal seeking urgent filling of vacant posts. “This is crucial not only for sustaining existing services but also for upholding the standards of care that a tertiary care institute is expected to maintain”. The shortage of manpower is severely impacting the delivery of quality care at the ICU, the administration has been informed.

However, no reprieve was provided. Instead, the Government continued with its decision of relieving the doctors working in these key areas. At the NICU under discussion, the second largest in Kashmir after Pediatric Hospital NICU, three of the four pediatricians are responsible for life saving interventions in neonates. Hundreds of newborns -hose born preterm, having respiratory distress, having issues with heart, lungs, intestines, brain, infections and many more will be all taken care of by one pediatrician, a task that is impossible on face value. As a stop gap arrangement, the GMC Srinagar has entrusted the responsibility that was being shared by four experienced pediatricians, to a few post graduate students.

Not just at Lal Ded Hospital’s NICU, its blood bank also faces the same fate.

At SMHS Hospital’s Hemophilia Center, three medical officers who had received training in hemophilia treatment and were experienced were “relieved”. GMC Srinagar has only one Hematologist, who is responsible for Blood Bank, teaching and now expected to run the daily affairs of Hemophilia Center that caters to nearly 450 hemophilia patients.

The Health and Medical education Department last week ordered that doctors be recruited for Directorates of health Jammu and Kashmir and working at GMC Srinagar and Jammu associated hospitals. The order has been issued without proving a replacement in the positions which these doctors had been deputed at to overcome shortages.

GMC Srinagar Principal did not reply to queries from Greater Kashmir.