WE THE PEOPLE
SKIMS’ department of General Surgery presents pathetic scene, quite over-crowded, under- staffed and hence unable to deliver goods
Therefore people seek CM’s intervention, urge restructuring and overhauling it to meet growing demand of ailing lot
By: Rameez Makhdoomi
Srinagar: The Department of General Surgery is the backbone of SKIMS, providing routine and critical patient care. It has continued to do large amount of elective surgical work by running routine theaters 5 days a week. Besides routine surgical procedures, the department is performing advanced pancreatic surgeries, endocrine surgeries of thyroid, adrenal & parathyroid. The department offers round the clock emergency services and OPD services on all weekdays. Both post-graduate and under-graduate trainings are provided in the department.
When this correspondent arrived near the General Surgery Unit located in the Ground floor of OPD Block, heavy flow of patients was there as if a stampede would occur very next moment. Gulam Muhammad, a patient said, “I have been waiting for my turn for past three hours and in hindsight it looks impossible that I can get my check up done today. The numbers of doctors attending the patients are miserably low and this is not what we expect from Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).
Abdul Ahad, a patient said, “There is tremendous congestion here and terrible shortage of doctors and even when your turn comes after having to wait for a hell of time, the doctor conducts check up of a patient for just few minutes. .I am very much disappointed with the service provided here.” Naseer Ahmad, a patient attendant said, “We have to reach a distant place and I think that we would have to leave without our patient getting his check up done. There is a tremendous dearth of doctors out here and as you know in our rural areas the health infrastructure has almost collapsed. The Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS is the only hope left and when we have such situation here where would we go I wonder.”
Gulzar Ahmad Khanday, a patient had same miserable tale to narrate. “It looks there is a complete breakdown of system here .I have been waiting for my turn for the past two and a half hours and I think that I would simply have to return disappointed. More doctors should be placed in this unit so that this tremendous flow of patients can be met in a successful way,” he added.
Zaina, A middle aged Lady said, “Although the cleanliness is quite good but it is impossible to meet the expectations of huge number of patients with just one or two doctors. This prestigious hospital is the hope of poor masses and it needs to come up to the expectations .The majority of us here cannot afford to have a visit to a private clinic, as our economical condition is not much strong to meet the heavy expenses charged in private clinics.”
The patients hence made a plea that the higher authorities should wake up and meet their demands in an efficient way so that. Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), the hope of masses in valley of Kashmir meets the expectations in a desired manner and in letter and spirit becomes the premier institution of the valley of Kashmir.
Therefore people seek CM’s intervention, urge restructuring and overhauling it to meet growing demand of the ailing lot. The patients come from far flung areas with the hope that they will get proper treatment as most of them are below poverty line and hence unable to visit Private Clinics to pay hefty sums of money to the specialists. It is to be kept in mind that this Hospital was established to cater to the needs of vast catchment of Kashmir valley as they had to undergo long journeys to get their problems solved.
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