Hilal Hashim

Srinagar, May 16 (KNS): The health department has failed to distribute Covid kits announced by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for Covid positive patients and are forced to buy from the open market.

The Covid kits consist of medicines necessary to combat Covid-19 infection, a pulse oximeter and comprehensive information, guidelines, directions and do's and don'ts, necessary to win over the deadly Virus, written in different languages, depending upon the languages prevalent in the region.
 The kit also contains different helpline nos of Frontline workers, doctors and other concerned agencies so that patients can contact them during exigency.
Managing Director of J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL) Dr. Yogesh Sharma, the agency responsible for procurement and distribution of all medical supplies and Covid kits in the union territory told KNS that they have distributed more than 33000 Covid kits across J&K until now and more kits are on the way to Srinagar and the process continues on daily basis says MD.

 "As of now we have placed an order of 1,60,000 covid-19 kits, which will be procured and supplied all over J&K in coming days," he said.

However situation on the ground is totally different and people are complaining that they are not being provided Covid kits on the ground except some influential persons, "I have tested positive with other two family members 6 days ago but I didn't get even a single kit" Said Rosy (name changed) of Ganderbal.
A Covid19 positive person from Anantnag said, "I had to buy the medicine and Pulse oximeter from open market which cost us Rs 4000 to 5000 which many of us cannot afford and that is the cause of the patients' deteriorating condition and their ultimate death. 
"We can't keep an eye on life parameters of a patient without proper equipment and that is the cause of their death," says another person from Kupwara. 

When contacted, Dr Mir Mushtaq, the spokesperson of the Department of Health (Kashmir), he acknowledged that the supplies being received by the CMO's of all the districts.
"The process of distribution of Covid kits among Covid patients will gain speed in coming days," he said.
Moreover, some reports suggest that the oximeters, supplied through these Covid kits are faulty, showing normal pulse and oxygen saturation in even non-living things when put in them.

 Many videos went viral on social media networking sites show heartbeat and even normal oxygen saturation in pencils and bandage rolls, to the utter shock of a common person, which means a patient with impaired oxygen level and less pulse rate or with no pulse (maybe of a dead person) would be read as normal, thanks to this pulse oximeter. 
"We treat a patient on the basis of the reading we get from a pulse oximeter and also we didn't always check these levels on our own. Most of the Covid patients are Home Quarantine and we treat them on phone or through different platforms, only on the basis of the reading they get, using their pulse oximeter. If the reading is faulty, it will certainly endanger the life of a Covid Patient," said a renowned specialist on the condition of anonymity. 
Civil Society has asked for an immediate halt to the distribution of these faulty oximeters, which has put the lives of so many patients in danger. 

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Department of Health Dr Mir Mushtaq put the whole onus and responsibility on JKMSCL, saying the nodal agency for procurement and supply of these kits lies on them. 

MD, JKMSCL, Dr Yogesh Sharmasaid that these Covid kits are also being procured and distributed at the district level, but also assured that the matter would be looked into.(KNS)