Published On:Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Don’t know why media is after us: MS
GB Pant hospital short of drugs, oxygen
Srinagar: While there is no denial in the fact that the recent floods massively damaged Valley’s healthcare, the non-seriousness and insensitiveness of the state government still continues. The same could be seen at the GB Pant hospital, which is not only short of medicines but the oxygen concentrator plant still awaits revamp, after it got damaged in the September 7 floods.
The lone pediatric hospital has been reportedly facing shortage of life saving drugs. “Life saving drugs are frequently needed medicines here as the patients admitted here are mostly referrals. We don’t have such drugs available at the hospital counter. We have only syringes, bandages and glucose bottles. The rest has been left at God’s mercy,” said an employee in the pharmacy department.
The attendants in the hospital also said that the only medical store in the premises of the hospital is yet to start its services. “We have to go Dalgate and other places to get the medicines and then return to the hospital, which only adds miseries,” sources said.
As per the sources, the hospital administration has written to the state’s health and medical education department for the necessary equipment and medicines, but the file is still pending, thus leaving the life of infants at risk.
Besides this, the lives of the patients have been put at great risk as the much-needed Oxygen Concentrator Plant, which needed an up-gradation much before the floods has got further damaged hampering its capacity.
“Oxygen Concentrator Plant is the life-line of any hospital, but here it is much more than that because this hospital is the tertiary care and houses incubators and other ventilators,” said a junior doctor pleading anonymity.
He also revealed that three infants during the floods died here because of the shortage of the oxygen supply.
The medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Muneer Masoodi also admits that three infants had died in his hospital soon after the floods hit it, but he refused to comment further. He said this while talking to Kashmir Monitor in his office chamber.
About the present problems of shortage of medicines and restoration of other important services, he said they are doing everything they can do. “I don’t know why media is only writing against this hospital. They should also report some positive things about us…how our staff worked in the hospitals when it was all flooded. How they restored the things,” he said.
“Our one lady doctor (name withheld) here should get an award of bravery, how she remained in the hospital for complete four days from September 7 to treat the patients. Nobody reported about her. Her family came to know about her after four days of floods,” he told Kashmir Monitor.
