The G B Pant hospital for children is suffering the same fate as the Lal Ded Hospital for Women.
‘Children Hospital as Good as a Railway Station’
Srinagar: G B Pant hospital, the only children hospital of Kashmir is ‘as good as a railway station’ according to a mother who helplessly shares a bed with three more attendants holding their sick babies on their laps. The hospital presents the same scene in all its wards.
Hajra, mother of a two months old baby in ward one, screamed out of rage, “We feel like we are on a road. Doctors are not available round the clock. Leave doctors, you have to run behind nurses to listen to you. One guides you to other and the other to someone else.”
The hospital still stand nowhere for its progress as it was recently in the news for its staff negligence and lack of facilities. Fearing to lose their jobs, doctors and the senior officials refuse to comment.
One of the senior doctor, who choose to hide his identity said, “From patients to doctors and the other officials, everyone knows about the grave problems of the hospital. There are a number of collective concerns on all the sides.
Fearing for getting penalized, the anonymous doctor said, “If you get permission from a higher level then only we can speak about the issues of the hospital, else we get penalized for speaking the truth.”
Speaking about the flow of patients and the attention they get, another anonymous doctor said that the hospital is overcrowded to take proper care of patients.
“This hospital comprises of an exact number of 200 beds, with a flow of patients in thousands. We cannot deny admissions to patients as it is a government hospital and at the same time we are helpless to provide them the care they require,” added another doctor.
“You see a senior doctor once in 24 hours. Our patient, who was suspected of meningitis at SKIMS, was referred here. Last night the junior doctors, who we suppose are mainly post graduate students, diagnosed him and said there are no chances of meningitis, you can take him home. We were adamant to stay back and today a senior Pediatrician confirmed this as a case of meningitis,” said Dr Saima, attendant of the said patient from Khanyar.
Explaining how poor ventilation can cause other diseases to the patients, Dr Saima said, “We are here with patients suffering from tuberculosis. There are all chances of transmitting such diseases to other children. There is hardly any cross ventilation inside the premises. Instead of recovering, patient will end up with some other diseases.”
Canteen’s bad drainage system is aggravating this problem with its pungent smell. This area is on the side of the Intensive Care Unit, where new born babies and minors with critical illness are admitted for medical care.
“I have been complaining about the bad drainage system of the hospital from the past three years now. People come and sit in our canteen to eat their home food,” said Farooq Ahmad, owner of the Canteen.
He further added that there are no bathrooms available for ladies and the ones available are also in a bad condition. “Your newspaper will be filled with complaints and yet there won’t be an end,” he said. A group of doctors, when insisted to voice their opinion wished anonymity and collectively said that the fact of dual control of this Pediatric Hospital by army and government adds majorly to the problem. “In fact, the location itself is at the wrong place. Such a hospital could serve the patient needs better if it could have been close to the SKIMS or any other big hospital of the valley,” they stressed. (Rising Kashmir)