One person manages more than 12 departments
Srinagar, Jan 1: Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura- one of the premier health institutions in Jammu and Kashmir is going through a worst phase in its history as alleged rampant corruption, malpractices and indiscipline have become order of the day in the Institute, local news agency KNT reported on Friday.
It said that from procurement of essentials and equipment to the recruitments and selections, there is complete ‘mess’ in the Institute and despite many people pointing to the maladministration, the government has been slow in taking action and saving the institution from disaster.
According to a letter written by a Srinagar based citizen to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the SKIMS administration has failed in saving the lives of dozens of Covid-19 patients as it could not provide them quality health care and innumerable news items in this regard catching the eye of government and public failed to evoke desired response. It is learnt that despite crores spent in the name of Covid, patients have been spending lakhs on their treatment in SKIMS with most of things unavailable in SKIMS despite a drug counter there and patients forced to purchase these essential items at hefty cost from nearby stores.
The letter alleges that there were huge misappropriations in the funds earmarked for Covid care and most of the funds were either misused to make procurements without approval of the government.
Many costly equipment procured without following financial codes are lying unused in the stores of the institute thereby wasting public money, the letter alleges.
It states that during the Covid pandemic hundreds of patients, who could have survived, lost their lives due to alleged lackadaisical attitude of the SKIMS authorities.
The letter also alleges that Director SKIMS is misusing his chair as the people who are very close to him have been given charges of all the important departments and in doing so many competent and senior officers are ignored.
“How a single person who is junior in the faculty has been given the charges of more than a dozen departments and committees and one wonders how does the person do justice to all these important assignments”, reads the letter.
“An additional professor in the department of hospital administration is not only the HOD of the said department but also holds the additional charges of Nodal Officer Covid 19 management, Medical Superintendent of State Cancer Institute, In-charge Transport, In-charge Drug & Pharmacy, In-charge Central Stores, Assistant Coordinator Purchase, Incharge patient sarai, Programme in-charge PGDHHM under IGNOU, Public Information officer (PIO), Nodal Officer Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna, Convener of the Recruitment Committee, a most Prestigious & Sensitive Committee and some other departments and committees, reads the letter adding that how is it humanly possible for a single person to do justice with all these assignments,” the letter states.
Ironically, the incumbent Director could not find a senior faculty with more than 70 professors there other than the one who is holding all these charges.
Raising an eyebrow over the selections in the recently declared BSc Nursing list, the letter alleges that the papers were sold in advance in lieu for hefty amounts as there is no involvement of Controller Examinations’ Registrar of SKIMS University ‘Senior Faculty’ Medical Superintendent and the Senior KAS officer the Additional Director SKIMS though they are members in the designated committee for selections constituted by Govt.
“How is it possible that five candidates who failed to secure even 50% percent marks in the same examination conducted by BOPEE in the same period, secured 100% marks in the same entrance conducted by SKIMS authorities”, the letter reads.
The Srinagar citizen in his letter has requested the Jammu Kashmir Lieutenant Governor to look into the issue so that SKIMS, a premier health facility is saved from a disaster and accused identified for their misdeeds so that the slogan of corruption free governance is honored and upheld.
Despite repeated attempts the Director SKIMS could not be contacted for his comments. A text message sent to him remained unanswered.