Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Sept 13: With the non-availability of public transport, the patient rush has increased in peripheral health facilities of the Valley, while as the same has decreased at the tertiary care situated in Srinagar.
Almost all the major hospitals in Srinagar have reported a dip in the patient rush, while as those in peripheries such as District Hospital and Primary Health Centers have witnessed a steep rise in the influx of patients. Under normal circumstances, the tertiary care would witness a huge rush, while as the facilities in the districts usually had less to care for.
A health official told Excelsior that due to the restricted movement in the other districts of the Valley and the non-availability of transport, the patients prefer not to visit the hospitals in Srinagar. However, those with their own transport are reaching here. Even in Srinagar city, people prefer to visit the health facilities situated in their areas, rather than thronging to SKIMS or SMHS.
“The availability of transport on roads play major role in up and down of the patient rush, so, those who don’t have any transport available, are visiting their respective District Hospitals and other health facilities in their districts,” an official said.
In Srinagar, the Super Specialty Hospital running under the control of Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, has witnessed a dip of 40 per cent of patients over the last more than one month. Similarly, SMHS Srinagar as well as the maternity hospital Lal Ded along with SKIMS have reported a considerable dip in the patient admissions at their respective places.
A doctor at the Super Specialty Hospital Srinagar told Excelsior that the hospital used to cater to the large population thronging to the hospital from Srinagar as well as other districts of the Valley. However, he said that those who had follow-ups or had surgeries scheduled, some were able to come and some could not, leading to a dip,” he said
“There sure is a decrease in the patient flow at the GMC and its associated hospital in Srinagar as people are not able to reach the hospitals due to the non-availability of transport, number of surgeries that were supposed to be carried out, have also seen a dip,” a doctor at GMC said.
“In districts, the rush has increased while it might have decreased in Srinagar, and sure it has; it is because, earlier, people used to rush to Srinagar for every complaint they had, but now, as the movement is restricted in certain parts and due to the non-availability of transport, they prefer to visit to the local health facility,” a doctor posted in the periphery said.
Officials from the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK) that they are doing whatever they can to cater to the patient rush that their health facilities in the peripheries are witnessing. “This does not seem to be something new, we have been catering to such a rush, but since August 5, we are catering to people beyond to what we used to,” the official said.
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