Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 2: At least 1000 post’s of doctors and 4000 of para-medical staff were lying vacant in various Government hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir. The Government has decided to fill up these vacancies on fast track basis.
These disclosures were made by the Health and Medical Education Department before the Committee on Estimates headed by Javaid Hassan Beigh, MLA in Srinagar today.
The Department officers and officials, however, assured the Committee members that these vacancies will be filled up as early as possible.
Official sources said the Committee members asked the Government to fill up the vacancies at the earliest to overcome shortage of doctors and para-medical staff in the Government Medical Colleges and other hospitals of the State. They pointed out that the patients were suffering due to shortage of doctors and para-medical staff.
Taking serious note of the spurious drugs menace in Jammu and Kashmir, the Estimates Committee asked the Government to take strong action against both the medicos and the pharmaceutical outlets responsible for providing and selling the medicines.
Javaid Hassan Beigh asked the Controller, Drug and Food Control Organization to submit, within three days, a comprehensive report to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, regarding how many samples of drugs the Organisation has lifted from various areas of the State for testing.
“The Government must act tough to break the nexus between the medicos and the substandard pharmaceutical companies, who are playing with the lives of the innocent people,” the Chairman of the Committee on Estimates said adding that a mechanism should also be put in place for rationalization of the prices of drugs especially the vaccines to prevent the common people from being fleeced by the “greedy” pharmaceutical companies.
The Committee sought an update from the Government on establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), making functional Super Speciality Hospital in Srinagar and setting up of new Medical Colleges in the State.
“Threadbare discussions were also held on the shortage of medical and paramedical staffs in far-flung areas, dumping of solid waste and construction of new hospital buildings in the State,’’ sources said.
The Committee was informed that the Government is in the process of constituting Village Level Monitoring Committees to ensure effective delivery of healthcare facilities to the common people.
It was also informed in the meeting that the super-speciality hospital Srinagar will function within three months to provide better medicare facilities to the people. It was also informed that the Government has approved five new Medical Colleges in the State for which the land has been identified.
The members gave various suggestions for further improving the functioning of Health and Medical Education Department.
Legislators Mubarak Gul, Ishfaq Ahmed Sheikh, Ranbir Singh Pathania, Shakti Raj Parhiar, Dina Nath Bhagat, Abdul Rashid, Raja Manzoor Ahmed, Abdul Rahim Rather and Romesh Arora were present in the meeting.
Commissioner/Secretary Health and Medical Education, Mandeep K Bhandari, Director General Indian System of Medicines, Principal Medical College Jammu/Kashmir, Director Health Services Jammu/Kashmir, Drug Controller J&K, Director project NHM, Director Family Welfare J&K and other concerned officers were present in the meeting.
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