Mir Farhat
Sopore, Nov 8: The Maternity and Childcare Hospital in Sopore is craving for improvement in basic facilities to patients-pregnant women and infants.
Patients and their attendants said the hospital is plagued with problems – primarily a shortage of doctors and staff nurses. “It also does not have an emergency care wards or even a full-fledged Maternity Care Unit, and space to accommodate a heavy rush of patients”, they said.
The 10-bed hospital sees a huge rush of patients from Sopore, Bandipora and Kupwara area. At least, 100 pregnant women visit the hospital everyday, but due to dearth of doctors, the patients get least care in the hospital.
Hospital officials said it has only three gynecologists, 4 Assistant Surgeons to attend to the huge rush of patients, which were “not enough” to cater to a huge number.
The hospital was run by DP Dhar Trust and was taken over by Government on July 13, 1998, and shifted to the old hospital building in March 2008 when the Sub-District Hospital was constructed. However, the facilities at the hospital were not improved by the Government, only its location was changed.
Hospital insiders said the doctors working here are on deputation, while their place of posting is somewhere else in the district. And the paramedical staff has been hired from the trust, among which most are without salaries from last five years.
“The hospital has been neglected by the Government, as it gets no funds from the Health Department. It is being run by the Hospital Development Fund collected from tickets of the patients,” an insider said.
On average 90 babies are delivered in the hospital every month, with a capacity of 10 beds, but 12 more beds have been added to “manage” the patients.
“The hospital adjusts critical patients in a small space which can be fatal. There is no proper heating arrangement; kerosene and gas heaters are being used which risk the health of women and their infants,” said an attendant, Irshad Ahmad.
Locals said the Government has not completely adopted the hospital. “It should be immediately shifted to a new block constructed in the Sub District Hospital. Its surroundings are dirty. The washrooms located inside the hospital premises have been left unwashed from several months and now dogs are occupying its space,” the locals said.
Block Medical Officer, Dr. Syed Masood, said the Maternity Hospital has been getting funds from National Rural Health Mission to improve its healthcare delivery mechanism.
“The hospital will be shifted to new block of the Sub-District Hospital within 15 days which will end all the difficulties being faced by the patients,” he said.
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