Excelsior Correspondent
-Excelsior/Aabid Nabi
Srinagar, Mar 30: Located at an altitude of 10, 000 feet, Primary Health Centre (PHC) Gulmarg in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district lacks basic medical facilities for patients suffering from respiratory and orthopedic ailments.
Gulmarg, which records heavy snowfall and below freezing point temperature every winter, is thronged by thousands of tourists including skiers and other adventure sports lovers. However, scores of tourists, guides and local labourers suffer from respiratory diseases due to freezing temperature. Besides, the cases related to orthopedic ailments such as fractures which occur due to slips on snow also come to fore.
Given this situation, there should be a hospital equipped with all the facilities with regard to respiratory and orthopedic ailments. However, the ground situation at PHC Gulmarg is otherwise. Sources said there are two doctors, three paramedics, one X-Ray technician and two sweepers in the hospital. “But, no doctor is posted for night duty,” they said.
The equipments like ECG and X-Ray machines are either defunct or functioning partially. The ECG machine is by and large defunct and the X-ray machine can only perform X-Rays of arms, knee and leg, said the sources, adding, “but chest X-Rays cannot be performed”. Besides, the sources said, the X-Ray technician only performs duty for four days in a week and in his absence the machine remains defunct.
The new X-Ray plant (300 MA) is non-functional and there is no dentist even as dental chair is available. Sources said there is no facility available for the fracture patients and they are referred to Srinagar’s Bone and Joints Hospital. Ironically, the PHC also lacks a four-by-four ambulance.
The hospital has also insufficient lighting system. Sources said a generator set is there but that only has capacity to lit bulbs but not to run the other equipments. Sources further added that the accommodation room for doctors is in shambles.
Chief Medical Officer, Baramulla, Dr Bashir Ahmad admitted that there are certain problems in PHC Gulmarg but at the same denied that there is no facility availability for orthopedic patients. He said: “I admit the importance of the PHC Gulmarg and the Government is mulling to upgrade it.
“Once the hospital is upgraded we would have all the facilities,” he said. The CMO said they have requested the Director Health for four-by-four ambulance. On being asked about the defunct ECG machine, he said: “We had two ECG machines. One is defunct but another is functional.”
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