Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, May 30: A dedicated COVID hospital in Akoora area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district lacks X-ray and other diagnostic facilities despite being vital to monitor the severity of Coronavirus disease.
The hospital is among 15 other hospitals in the Valley which have been designated for COVID treatment, but the authorities have failed to provide it with the required facilities. “They have used an under-construction building that is lacking the basic facilities for COVID-19 treatment. There is no x-ray facility and oxygen facility are also limited,” an official said.
He said that they upgraded an administrative quarantine centre to a hospital without examining the facilities. “Placing a few oxygen concentrators in the name of facilities might mislead the administration during the crisis. It could prove detrimental and risk lives,” he said.
The building was being constructed for the New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC) of the area that continues to share an old building with the veterinary centre. “Authorities did nothing to complete this building or make it functional in last one year. They abandoned the building after using it as a quarantine Centre for a few months,” a local said.
While castigating the decision, another official in the Health Department said the facilities like X-ray is key in the treatment of COVID-19. “A COVID hospital is incomplete without an X-ray machine. The oxygen supply is also inadequate. We cannot conduct any blood test there. How can a doctor determine if a patient requires specialized treatment?”, he asked.
A doctor said keeping in view the surge in the number of positive cases the hospital would be put to use any time. “Presently a few patients who need low flow oxygen are admitted to the hospital. God forbid if other hospitals remain fully occupied such a facility can be catastrophic,” he said, adding that Government Medical College Hospital is already full and patients are being referred to other places from there.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Chief Medical Officer Anantnag, however, claimed the X-ray facilities were available in the hospital. ”
Asked about testing and oxygen facilities, he said, “we do not require testing in the hospital and ample oxygen facilities are available. For specialized care we refer the patients to GMC,” he said.
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