Poor patients face hardships, forced to visit GMC hospital for USG, X-ray during night
By: Ahmad Shabir
Anantnag: The absence of USG and X-ray facilities during night hours at lone Maternity and Child Hospital of South Kashmir has come under severe criticism with the patients, alleging it to be a reason of immense hardships.
MCH in 2019 was associated with Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, raising the hopes of people about improvement in healthcare at the facility.
However, two years later, the healthcare at the hospital continues to be as messy as before.
The poor healthcare at the hospital can be guessed from the fact that both the USG and X -ray sections are shut at 5 pm only, leaving the patients to lurch. The non-availability of two important investigation sections during evening and night hours leave the emergency patients in a state of helplessness.
Sources at the healthcare facility told Precious Kashmir that doctors at the hospital during night hours simply ask the patients needing immediate USG or X-ray to go to the medical college hospital in Janglat Mandi area about one km away.
“Since all the private diagnostic centers close their labs by evening, the patients visiting the facility with the hope to get the good healthcare are forced to get the investigations done at GMC Anantnag,” sources said.
MCH caters not only to the entire south Kashmir but parts of Jammu as well including Banihal and Kishtwar.
A local resident, Arif Ahmad who recently had to face the agony of taking his wife from MCH to GMC for USG said that sending the pregnant women needing immediate treatment to GMC for such an important investigation during the dead of night is not only shameful but inhumane too.
“Many patients come from far-off areas and are not having their own vehicles. You can imagine the agony they face while going on foot to GMC amid darkness. This also delays their treatment by more than an hour as on reaching GMC it consumes lot of times to locate the doctor on night duty,” Ahmad said.
Principal, GMC Anantnag , Dr Tariq Qureshi said that he will ensure USG is done at the hospital for emergency patients during night hours.
“If the USG is not being done at the hospital, I will make it sure from tomorrow only,” he said.
