Suhail Rather
Bandipora, January 08: The Shortage of Doctors in District hospital Bandipora continues to affect the health care services being sought by the residents.
The DH serves as a spotlight example of administrative apathy the reason for which is the dearth of doctors. The issue has further deteriorated with the increasing population thus a concern for those seeking treatment in the health institute.
If the officials are to be believed, the hospital staff put the figures as high as "400 patients who visit the hospital every day". The patients seeking consultation, say, they have to wait for hours together outside the doctor's cabin. "A single doctor is unable to do justice with the increasing number of patients".
Not only this, patients suffering from minor ailments or accidental injuries are often being referred to SKIMS and other hospitals in Srinagar as "no specialist doctor is available to handle the cases locally".
Locals said there have been many instances wherein they had to shift the wounded patients to the SKIMS Soura as concerned specialists aren’t available thus failing the basic concenpt or easing burden on City Hospitals.
Official sources said specialists including ENT, Psychiatrist, Radiologist posts are vacant in the hospital. Moreover, only one physician is catering for the whole patient care. "The authorities do not bother to redress the genuine demands of patients ," Tariq Bhat a resident said.
Locals said that they had been raising the issue of shortage of doctors with the senior functionaries in the district administration and with the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir. “But our repeated pleas have fallen to deaf ears as the officials have failed to do anything concrete about the issue."
The locals have appealed to the district administration to plead the case of shortage of doctors in concerned quarters on priority so that healthcare system is augumented in the district.
