Installing equipment in hospitals futile unless it benefits public: Sakina Itoo
Baramulla, Jul 9: The minister for health and medical education Sakina Itoo on Wednesday said that installation of machines and other equipment serve no purpose unless it benefits the public. The minister was speaking while chairing a meeting at Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla to review the healthcare facilities available for the public.
"In the last eight months, the government has tried to fill the vacant positions of doctors. MRI (3 Tesla) worth Rs. 25 crore and Cath Lab worth Rs. 12.50 crore has been approved for GMC Baramulla to ensure better patient care," she said.
She said that GMC caters to a huge catchment area and patients from far flung areas visit here for treatment. "It has to be ensured that patients who visit GMC Baramulla from all the areas are not referred to Srinagar hospitals for advanced treatment. The patients should get the full treatment here," she said in her address during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by MLAs Javed Hassan Beigh, Dr Sajad Shafi, Advocate Irfan Hafiz Lone, Irshad Rasool Kar besides Principal GMC Baramulla, Medical Superintendent Associated Hospital GMC Baramulla and other doctors of GMC and associated hospital. "Whenever we see the presentations, we see all the Medical Colleges in the same way. The presentation is always beautiful. In the presentation, the structure of the building, the equipment that are shown, the places of OTs, and the activities that take place inside the hospital, everything looks beautiful in the presentations," she said.
She, however, said that on ground, there are a lot of issues in the colleges which need to be addressed. "When it comes to physical inspection, whatever is shown in presentations, a lot of things are missing. We have to collectively take steps to rectify that. Since the government was formed, we tried to streamline things in the last eight months," she said.
She said despite recruiting around 509 doctors in the last few months, the government still receives complaints about non availability of doctors. "How do we rectify this shortage? That is the biggest challenge for us. But it is not impossible to overcome it. We have appointed 509 doctors and the number is not small, but unfortunately everybody is still complaining about shortage," she said. She said the GMCS and other hospitals demand equipment and machines but it cannot serve any purpose unless it benefits the public.
"If you have a Cath lab but not a cardiologist or you have an MRI, but you don't have a doctor. Sometimes, when we put equipment in hospitals, they either gather dust or rust as they are not used for a long time," the health minister said. She said that installing equipment was not a big deal. But giving people benefit from those equipment, making patient care better should be our target. "If in a hospital you have a doctor and a consultant but you do not have equipment he is trained for. What is the purpose of posting the doctor there," she said. She asked the officers to use their position effectively to make the health care system better.
"The most difficult thing in Kashmir is that we (officers) are so afraid of issuing any order. We are afraid that people will arrest us. If there is sincerity in any order, we should not be afraid," she said. She further asked the doctors to have a soft attitude towards the patients as people sometimes complain that the doctors misbehaved with them.
"If any accident case reaches the hospital, it is obvious that the attendant can use rough language. We often see videos of such incidents. The doctors should also take care of their job. I understand that it is not easy for you. It is the doctor whom people trust but we often see that the doctors' phones are switched off at night. I understand that you have a lot of night duties. Sometimes you have continuous surgeries. But you have to be ready for this. You have to be alert that you have to make the health sector better," she said. She said at times attendants and patients get convinced with good behaviour of the doctors even if they do not receive full treatment. "These are some basic things that you have to adopt. Sometimes the attitude of the doctors is very bad. I do not say that all doctors have this attitude, but some behave rudely with patients," she said.
She further urged the doctors not to prioritise privatisation over their duties. "Do your work honestly in the hospitals where you work. Government is ready to address your problems. Your profession is noble. You can do private practice on holidays," she said.
