Srinagar, June 14: The completion of Government Medical College Srinagar’s 50 years of service could be a reason to celebrate the upcoming Golden Jubilee. Likewise, a Silver Jubilee on, the SK Institute of Medical Sciences Soura is projected to be the sole territory care hospital in Kashmir matching “international standards”.
 But the patients still need to be taken outside for treatment to morbidities like brain hemorrhage. And the situation seems alarming when the patient is himself a prominent doctor working at the GMC run hospital, the SMHS.
 Thursday, past week, Dr Fayaz Bhat, a nephrologist working at the SMHS suffered a brain hemorrhage while working at the hospital.
 Dr Bhat, as per his colleagues, fainted and went into comma. He was instantly hospitalized and diagnosed of “Massive Intra cerebral hemorrhage”.
 But after a day of treatment at the SMHS, the medico was shifted to SKIMS. But his condition didn’t improve as he continued to be in comma.
 Finally, two days ago, the medico in his running 40s had to be airlifted to Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.
 Even though the patient is yet to recover, sources said, some seven lakh rupees have already been spent on the treatment.
 The issue has put a question mark on the quality of the treatment in Kashmir.
 “This is truly a sorry state of the affairs that firstly his home institution the SMHS couldn’t treat him and finally the SKIMS too failed,” said a leading medico requesting not to be named.
 “The incident,” he said, “has exposed the state of the healthcare in Kashmir.”
 “Why don’t we have expertise at SKIMS even after 25 years?... The medical fraternity has all rights to question the status of SKIMS as tertiary care or super-specialty hospital,” argued a Kashmiri medico working in the middle-east.
 Dr Bhat’s morbidity has made it to the online fad, the facebook where the news spread like wildfire among other Kashmiri medicos online across the globe.
 “Do they have a stroke unit there or has he been admitted under neurosurgeons as private units invariably do in countries with no accountability. Don’t tell me we have lost focus and ability to manage a stroke, a common clinical condition. My heart goes out to all those patients and their loved ones who find themselves in ...,” reads a wall posting.
  “I would request our batch-mate community to find out a way to support the family not only emotionally but financially as well. Critical Care Treatment is not cheap and I think we should stand up in support for the family,” reads another comment.
 When contacted, the SKIMS administration said the issue of shifting the patient to New Delhi was more of a “social issue”.
 “It’s more of a social issue than a medical issue… You can get full details from the medical superintendent I will inform him to brief you,” SKIMS Director, Dr Abdul Hamid Zargar told Greater Kashmir.
 Despite repeated attempts, the Medical Superintendent couldn’t be contacted for comment.
 As for the patient, helpless, his colleagues are praying for him. Apart from Kashmir, the doctors organized special prayers for his well being in the Holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. The concern was poked on the social networking websites as well.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST