Super Speciality Hospital in hiccups

With passage of time, generally one expects improvement in institutions and establishments , records of performance are improved upon and new targets and goals are set to be achieved . Expansion and widening of operational areas are made the hallmark of performance , excellence and specialities. That all is what, under normal circumstances , happens and should happen with all institutions having bearing on the humankind in one form or the other. When these basic parameters are tried to be scanned and searched in Jammu’s Super Speciality Hospital, one only gets disappointed and dejected. This medical institution was hyped to the extent of being a replica of PGI Chandigarh and that of AIIMS New Delhi and that the desirous patients with ailments otherwise treated at such premier medical institutes had not to undergo hassles of travelling that far as this hospital was expected to be having such facilities and specialised treatment here in Jammu.
Unfortunately, the earlier hype and the importance attached with this hospital and the tag of “speciality” accorded in its establishment was seen gone and evaporated after a short period of its coming up. Wherefrom shall its woes be started to be counted and listed is not that important as it is to ruefully note, as to how the Government and the Medical Education Department gradually started to ignore and dilute its importance even to the extent of denying it the reasonable budgetary allocations. Common sense demands that there should have been a gradual increase in the budgetary allocation and funds availability system quite responsive to its needs, the fact of matter, otherwise, is that the funds allocations have either been sliced for it or those funds which should have been on the rise with each year have been diverted to ancillary hospitals . This has resulted over the years, various units and departments in it either completely closed down or functioning just in the name’s sake.
That there should have been more departments and branches in this Hospital, the fact of the matter is that excepting Cardio, Neurology, Nephrology and Neurosurgery departments, no other unit is functioning here. There is no proper and effective linkage between other hospitals run by the government and this Super Speciality Hospital and cases referred here from those hospitals have no proper system and procedure. It is unbelievable that that there is no Emergency Wing in this Hospital and though the Building structure from outside appears to be spacious and probably housing more than required infrastructure for running the Super Speciality , the fact of the matter is that this Hospital is reeling under space constraints. It looks ludicrous that a serious patient instead of straightaway rushing to this hospital for getting specialised treatment has first to visit Government Medical College and Hospital Emergency wing from where it could be referred to this hospital entailing avoidable wastages of critical time. This main lacunae robs this hospital of being called as ‘Super Speciality’. How can Cardio and Neuro wings function effectively in the absence of associated Emergency wings?
Coming to the issue of conducting of important and critical tests like TMT, Holter etc , there is no facility at this Hospital and one had to visit the GMC Hospital. The list is long and the apathy of the Government coupled with utter neglect is wide which has aborted the very concept of having this special hospital in Jammu in the manner conceived . What is more worrying is the acute shortage of the senior faculty and specialist Doctors which should get the immediate attention of the Government focussed on how to resolve and overcome it. Parking problems, non availability of medicines from the lone medicines shop in this hospital, no connectivity with the GMCH though it is learnt that a proposal was under consideration of the Government, and host of problems need immediate resolution. The premise should be how to provide relief and succour to the people in Jammu division from rushing to hospitals in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Delhi etc for ailments most of which could be treated in this hospital. There are hopes pinned in the Governor’s Administration to look into the entire spectrum of issues confronting this hospital and resolve them. Agreed , all could not be addressed immediately but most of them could be .

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