Doctors, para – medical staff and other concerned personnel, who because of their undaunted services round the clock rendered to the people in respect of the Corona pandemic, are rightly called as corona warriors and frontline workers as the case be. These personnel from the Health and Medical Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir deserve all encouragement and due recognition of their services in more than one ways. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha approving certain financial incentives for such warriors is appreciable and a step taken in the right direction at the right moment which apart from any financial incentives or as some compensation, is more of the recognition and appreciation of their dedicated services to the needy and the suffering in these challenging moments. We note with satisfaction that inspite of limited infrastructure and other constraints, they put in their best to try to treat and save the lives of those infected with the virus. It is also to be seen that hardly had the Doctors and the para-medical staff had some breather early this year from the first COVID -19 wave last year which had shown favourable results of largely getting subdued, that the new mutant or the variant of the virus hit many parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir thus putting a lot of responsibility on them. However, the incentives announced were going to benefit nearly more than 17000 Corona warriors directly dealing with the COVID patients including Resident Doctors, Medical Officers, para-medical nursing staff, drivers and class 1V employees. The amount of such monetary incentives having been announced for each category, the same was payable from May 1 and shall remain in force “initially” for three months. We feel that many steps and measures needed to be taken to take effectively on the challenge posed by the new wave of the virus shall be taken by the Government and so far as the announced incentives are concerned, these should also be supplemented with the critical requirements needed by Doctors and other medical staff in treating the patients suffering from the virus infection as in the absence of, or inadequate availability thereof, not only the treatment gets delayed but it casts shadows on the professional efficiency of the Doctors. Another notable decision taken by the UT administration is arranging the availability of more Doctors in that-those who were slated to attain superannuation from the period ranging from May 2021 to November 2021 have been granted extension till December 31, 2021. Since the current situation being difficult and demanding more resources to overcome it, no chance could be given to disturb the available medical services due to any shortage even if minimal of the Doctors etc, instead it needed to be given a fillip hence the decision to grant extension to Doctors who include medical faculty members, consultants, doctors working in SKIMS Soura and Bemina in Srinagar Kashmir, and Government Medical Colleges of the Union Territory. Likewise, those undergoing tenure postings at medical institutions in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir too have been extended till the year end which definitely was aimed at utilizing the services and the long experience of these professionals in treating the patients suffering from the virus. Though on comparative basis, management of the COVID related issues in Jammu and Kashmir is found on the average satisfactory, periodic reviews of the arrangements and requirements in our hospitals and other medical institutions is extremely important. Solutions to and resolution of the problems in the health sector only when they accentuate and not as and when they arise, neither serve the desired purpose nor are better results obtained. Hence, measures like the ones under reference and others suiting the nature of the problems from time to time, need to be regularly taken
Follow our WhatsApp channel