Srinagar, May 16: Barely few days after the Chief Minster, Omar Abdullah, inaugurated the much-awaited trauma centre at Qazigund on Srinagar-Jammu highway, the facility has turned into an Out-Patient Department, drawing flak from the residents.
Sources said authorities started the OPD in the trauma centre for which it drew the staff from the 60-year-old Public Health Centre at Qazigund, two kms from the Centre. “The trauma centre should be exclusively meant for trauma cases, and not used as an OPD,” said the locals, who staged protests against the Directorate of Health.The staff withdrawal has crippled the PHC, leading to the intervention by the local MLA, Sartaj Madni. “I will look into the issue,” Madni told the residents and pharmacists, who were on strike for past three days.
However, they called off the strike on Madni’s assurance. “We have called off the three day strike after he assured us that all the staff would be brought back in five days,” said a pharmacist.
Omar Abdullah had recently inaugurated Rs 12.89 crore Emergency Trauma Centre at Qazigund with an objective to treat the trauma patients, who met with accidents on the busy Jammu-Srinagar highway.
“The government has flagged health sector as one of the most important sectors and steps were afoot to modernize it and extend adequate health care facilities to villages and remote areas,” Omar had said.
“Of four doctors in the PHE, three have been transferred to Trauma Centre. This is affecting patient-care in the PHE,” said the sources.
When contacted, the Director Health, Dr Muhammad Amin Wani, said, “The staff for emergency hospital has been detached from Primary Health Centre, which is working normally.”

Lastupdate on : Sun, 16 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 16 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 IST