Will look into the matter,  says CMO

By: Ahmad Shabir

Anantnag: The ultra-sonography facilities at Sub District Hospitals in southern Anantnag district are serving little purpose as the said investigation in these hospitals is done only once a week. The test being done only on particular days is leaving the patients with no option but to move to private diagnostic centers to get the test done.

For instance at SDH Seer Hamdan in medical block Mattan USG is done only once in a week.

The hospital is one of the most overcrowded health institutions in the district catering to the entire town and many villages of Pahalgam, Aishmuqam and Mattan.

Sources in the hospital said that many patients are advised the test on daily basis after knowing that the investigation in the hospital is done only on Tuesdays they prefer to move to private diagnostic centers. “Only the poorer ones for whom private diagnostic centers are unaffordable wait for weeks time for the said investigation. Rest don’t want to delay their diagnosis and without wasting time rush to private centers,” a para-medic at the hospital said.

Similarly at DH Sallar on which dozens of villages are dependent for healthcare needs, the USG is done on Saturday only as a result of which patients have to travel 20 to 30 kms to get the test done at private USG centers in Bijbehara or Anantnag.

At PHC Mattan also, which is the headquarter of the medical block the investigation is conducted only once a week leaving the patients in lurch. The hospital for its central location witnesses huge patient influx every day.

Same is the case with Emergency hospital Qazigund which comes under the jurisdiction of medical district Kulgam.

Constructed few years ago on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the USG in the hospital, sources said, is done on a particular day only. “At times the emergency patients needing the said investigation are referred to GMC Anantnag, 22 kms from the town which delays his treatment,” a paramedic at the hospital told Precious Kashmir.

An official of the Health Department cited the shortage of manpower for not keeping the facility operational everyday in these hospitals.

“This is the fact that most of the patients advised USG by the doctors instead of waiting for the day USG is done at these healthcare facilities rush to private clinics but the issue is that we are short of manpower to do it on daily basis,” the official said.

He said that they have departmentally trained the doctors who have been deputed or posted in the SDHs or PHCs where USG facility is available.

However, chief medical officer Anantnag, Dr Mukhtar said that all the SDHs and round the clock PHCs have clear directions to do USG on daily basis.

“I wonder how can they do the important investigation on particular days only. I will seriously look into it and ensure that the investigation is done daily in these hospitals. We have Sonologists available in all the hospitals where the USG facility is available,” the CMO said.

By: Afaq Bhat
Srinagar: Emergence of new COVID-19 variant, Omicron has sent the alarm bells ringing. It means that third wave of pestilence has arrived.
After the cases of Omicron were reported in Karnataka, the administration in Kashmir has geared up to contain the spread of new variant in the Valley. The administration has directed the Health Department to conduct RTPCR test of all international travelers upon their arrival at the Airport here. After the samples are collected the travelers will be sent to administrative quarantine either government or private as per their choice. The administrative quarantine centres have been established at Marriage Hall Sanat Nagar, Abi Hayat Hotel Boulevard and other private facilities.  “The administration has taken the preemptive measures to ensure that things don’t go out of control,” said an official.
After the surfacing of Omicron threat experts are studying its nature. Some are suggesting that it may overcome the immunity acquired by the people due to vaccines but the severity will be less. The new variant may also evade immunity acquired from prior infection.
The study based on data collected through South Africa’s health system on about 2.8 million confirmed COVID-19 infections between March 2020 and 27 November, 2021 including 35,670 suspected re-infections has revealed that re-infection risk profile of Omicron is substantially higher than that associated with the beta and delta variants that appeared during the second wave.
The study claimed that those who had COVID-19 could get sick again with the new variant but vaccine still appears to offer protection against severe disease. The experts are of the opinion that the people who are unvaccinated should get the vaccine and those who have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine should get the booster shot.
Another worrying factor that has come to fore is about the risk factor among children who have not been vaccinated yet. The reports suggest that in South Africa where Omicron variant is now a dominant strain, there has been increase in hospital admissions among young kids. Some experts are of the opinion that lack of vaccination among children could be one of the reasons for increase in hospitalization cases.
Most adults have been vaccinated but children have not been included in the vaccination drive yet. In the past children were not affected severely by the Covid pandemic. But the reports emanating from South Africa are disturbing. Getting children vaccinated will help them fight Covid in a better way and can also save them from getting infected severely.