It speaks only about the inexplicability of those responsible for allowing all the four telemedicine nodes to be rendered inoperative and inanimate in various Government hospitals across Jammu division. These modern scientific devices were established fifteen years back with intent to deliver health care services to remote, distant and unserviced regions.
The device is the brain child of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which is innovative in itself in that it is a process of synergizing benefits of satellite communication technology and information technology with Biomedical Engineering and Medical Sciences to benefit the people even in remotest areas. The programme was started in 2001 and under the project, remote district hospitals and health centers and mobile units were connected to major specialty hospitals in cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar through INSAT satellites for providing expert consultation. Under this programme, ISRO established about 12 telemedicine nodes in various health institutions of the state between 2002 and 2005 . Out of the 12 nodes, four were established in Jammu province and eight others in Kashmir province.
These four nodes were established in Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu, District Hospitals in Kathua, Poonch and Doda while in Kashmir province, one each was established in SKIMS Soura, GMC Srinagar, District Hospitals in Kupwara, Leh, Kargil, Zanaskar, Tangdar and Uri. These hospitals were connected with one another and the reputed hospitals of the country like AIIMS, New Delhi, PGI Chandigarh, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, CRMC Chennai and the like.
When most of these devices and facilities established in Kashmir are still functional, all the four ones established in Jammu have been rendered lifeless and inoperative and that too for nearly 10 years. In GMC Jammu , the facility was established in 2002 and since 2010 is lying defunct. The same is the case at Poonch, Doda and Kathua.
What is baffling about the entire administrative goof is that neither the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu nor the administration of the concerned hospitals, where these facilities were established, made any effort to revive these telemedicine nodes over so many years and even most of them must not be even aware of such facilities existing in their hospitals. Can it be called as austere administrative confabulation or a deliberate reckless approach especially when the matter is related to providing health related services? The authorities must clarify as to when and how these facilities developed snags and what steps were initiated to get them repaired, serviced and updated to keep them in operational mode. Secondly, where are the instruments of the devices and in which condition, whether there is proper record in inventory or stock registers perused periodically and as and when administrative heads are transferred and new incumbents taking charge?The clarification must include the reasons of this laxity and the future line of action or the future status of these pieces of innovative technology.
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