Srinagar, 01 May (KNS): The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Saturday urged the administration to rise up to the exigencies thrown by the spike of COVID-19 infections and ensure the availability of all Critical COVID-19 care drugs, Oxygen beds, Vaccines and testing kits across all health facilities in Shahar-e-Khas in District Srinagar.

As per the statement issued to Kashmir news service (KNS), While expressing concern over the problems faced by the people in the Shahar-e-Khas areas of District Srinagar, former Speaker LA Mubarak Gul demanded a flip in the efforts and response underway by the district administration to tackle with the crises like situation.

Gul who has been receiving SOS calls from various areas of Eidgah constituency urged the district administration to give a boost to the availability of critical care gadgets, medicines, vaccines and Testing kits at all 18 PHC/MMCs , District TB centres, 39 New Type PHC,  68 Sub centres across the district including the Palpura, Sangam, and Noorbagh areas. “I have been receiving various SOS calls from outlying Noorbagh, Sangam and Palpura localities of Eidgah Constituency in particular about the dearth of vaccines and other critical patient care equipment.

I urge the concerned district administration to redress the grievances of the locals and ensure the availability of Covid-19 critical care drugs, vaccines and oxygen beds there. I am hopeful that the concerned authorities will plug the lacuna immediately. The said health facilities in Palpura, Sangam and Noorbagh also sans Ambulance service to reach out to the ailing; I hope the district administration would rise up to the issue and provide at least one ambulance to each of these facilities,” he said.  

 Necessitating on the need to converge the efforts underway by the administration to curb the COVID-19 spread, Gul called for having  district  working groups to oversee the efforts, saying such working groups should comprise of  local SSPs, Social welfare officers, Chief medical officers, DCs, and other social voluntary organizations.“The need of the hour calls for multi-step plan to curb COVID-19 spread. The strategy should include increasing testing at an exponential rate with a higher share of RT PCR test. The screening tool should be made thickly available across the district.

Effective isolation, highly equipped with all critical care machines also need to be upgraded to cater to the increased patient flow, such facilities could be set up in various government buildings,” he said adding “in addition to this special attention should be paid to promote proper behaviour across the district with the help of effective community engagement and utilization of print, electronic, and social media platforms.”

Voicing against transferring of CMOs at this critical juncture, he said the concerned CMOs have lived through the previous COVID-19 wave and gained ample experience about the exigencies associated with it.

He also impressed upon the divisional administration to convert community centres across the district Srinagar in particular the Shahar-e-Khas area into critical covid care temporary centres.(KNS)