SRINAGAR, FEB 25: The administration is endeavouring to strengthen the staffing at health centres in rural areas, besides developing the necessary infrastructure to alleviate the pressure on tertiary care hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir.
The health care system in the Valley is largely dependent on Share Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital Srinagar.
Annually, the SKIMS and SMHS Hospital, according to official figures, receive over 22 lakh patients.
An official said that inadequate healthcare facilities in district hospitals lead patients to overcrowd SMHS and SKIMS hospitals for treatment.
“To relieve pressure on tertiary care facilities, the government is initiating a significant reorganization to reinforce understaffed healthcare centres in remote areas of J&K. The authorities have sought a list of doctors overstaying and identified shortages in the medical staff at various hospitals and healthcare centres in J&K,” the official said.
The government has been collecting details about doctors who have not served in rural areas so far so that they could be sent to far-off places. “The step is aimed at decreasing the referral cases of patients and would reduce the burden on city hospitals,” the official said.
Official sources say that J&K is facing a dearth of almost 30 percent of manpower, especially doctors and nurses.
The officials say that Union Territory has a deficiency of around 2,000 employees including doctors, resulting in the health sector continuing to suffer.
The government has issued orders a number of times where it was mandatory for a doctor to serve in rural areas for strengthening health centres in far-flung areas in J&K.
A senior official said all the overstaying doctors will be transferred very soon to overcome the dearth of doctors in rural areas. “Those doctors who have served in cities only will be sent to rural areas to strengthen the understaffed hospitals in rural areas. Every doctor has to serve some time in rural areas,” the official added.
