By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: With severe cold conditions prevailing across the Valley and the top health authorities asking the administrators of all the major hospitals to start heating system in their respective hospitals, the authorities at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag are yet to start the central heating system, thus leaving the poor patients as well as their attendants to lurch at large.
Hospitals in the Valley are supposed to switch on the central heating by November 15 only. However, as the temperatures started plummeting earlier, the authorities last week had asked the hospitals to gear up to provide heating facilities to the patients.
However, at GMC Anantnag, the lone tertiary care facility in south Kashmir with huge patient influx, the central heating system continues to remain off, which not only make the patients and their attendants suffer but also the doctors as well.
“You can imagine the plight of patients admitted in the wards in these bone chilling nights. Though hospital authorities have fixed wall heaters and even gas heaters in wards as an alternative but that is no substitute to central heating in the big spacious wards,” sources in the GMC said.
They said that following the cold weather conditions that prevailed much earlier this year, the hospital authorities should have started preparations to make the heating system operational by November 15 but nothing like that happened.
“It was only after the authorities issued directions with regard to making heating systems functional, GMC authorities started setting right the heating system, which needed some major repairs,” said another source.
He said that the officials supposed to run the central heating system have almost carried out all the necessary repairs in last few several but till today the heating system continues to remain off due to the non-availability of fuel.
A doctor who spoke to Precious Kashmir said that they are also finding it difficult to work in these cold conditions without heating facility particularly during night hours.
“In OPD, the patients shiver while waiting for their turn as there are neither any wall heaters nor gas heaters installed,” the doctor said.
Though the Principal GMC Anantnag, Dr Tariq Qureshi had told Precious Kashmir on Saturday that the CHS will be made functional by Sunday morning as the same had developed some fault during trial. However, sources said that no such trial was done.
“Yes, we have carried out necessary repairs of the heating system but could not make it functional due to the non-availability of fuel needed to run it,” said the source.
