Peerzada Sayeed

Karnah, March 29 (KNS) : The patients visiting Sub-District Hospital Karnah are facing tremendous hardships due to shortage of doctors and paramedical staff.

The hospital caters to the population of almost 1 lakh people in this frontier Teshil.
 Locals said Sub-District Hospital witnesses huge patient rush.

" patients have to wait in long queues for hours and return without any treatment.
Patients suffering from certain ailments have to travel either to Kupwara or Srinagar for the consultation."

Blaming the health department for the shortage of manpower,  residents said, "hospital has sanctioned strength of 27 doctors but only 5 doctors are posted here and no one among them is specialist. Three to four Gynecologists should be available in the hospital but there is only one Gynecologist in the hospital. No pediatrician is posted here.

 Only one surgeon has been posted here and whenever he is on leave, people have to suffer," they said.

They added that  Patients are often being referred to other hospitals.” The hospital is 30 bedded, it should be upgraded up to 100 beds if we compare the SDH Tangdar with the Sogam and Karalpura Hospitals they have been upgraded from Primary Health Centers where as SDH Karnah was established in 1953 but it is still 30 bed hospital and lacks basic health care facilities due to negligence of Politicians and Administration."

The dearth of doctors and lack of proper infrastructure in Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Tangdar is making the patients of this hilly region suffer and forces them to cover long distance for treatment.

The residents of the area alleged that in absence of proper health care facilities in the hospital, they are forced to visit private clinics or other hospitals and spending huge amount of money which most of people can't afford.

They said the hospital lacks basic facilities including medicines, availability of doctors, theatre facilities, cleanliness etc. “The non-availability of a child specialist, dermatologist, gynecologists, Radiologist and other specialist doctors in the hospital is taking a heavy toll on the patient care.

For a simple checkup, we have to take our children or pregnant women either to Srinagar hospitals or private clinics,” a local resident of Tangdar said, He added “The critical patients who are referred to other hospitals often die on their way.”

The adminstration should have to look after this matter because it's a grave concern of the people of Teshil Karnah. (KNS)