‘You learn something every day if you pay attention’, goes the popular understanding. For past many decades Kashmiris too have been learning is lessons hard way everyday but what is unfortunate is that the learnt lessons are as immediately unlearnt. During past twenty two years there has been hardly a year without an agitation or a mass unrest. Strikes, protests, violence and death – all these things have been religiously visiting this place in every season; besides scores getting killed in firing by police and paramilitary troops, some getting hit by tear gas canisters and some critically wounded in police action. Though there is no authentic and detailed data available on the people injured during past two decades but according to rough estimation the number of people who have suffered injuries is five times than those killed. Many a human rights organization put the number of the people killed more than one hundred thousand; that means the figure of those injured could be about half a million. Many injured are disabled for rest of the life and become dependent for day to day life. There can be no denying that it has been for the dedication and commitment of many doctors working in the Medical Institute, S.M.H.S. Hospital and Bone and Joint Hospital that thousands of lives have been saved. The Medical Institute and other hospitals in the State were built for normal situations and not for the one that developed during past two decades. None of these hospitals is fully equipped to deal with the crisis situations, and hence face tough times when scores of critically injured reach there. Not a single hospital in the State has an ambulance worth its name. There are few carrier vans, wrongly called ambulances, available with some major hospitals in the city. Most of the district hospitals lack even this facility. The carrier vans that are operational also lack the basic emergency facilities or life support system for the patients in critical conditions. For lack of proper ambulances many an injured died before they reached the hospitals. Many a human lives would have been saved had the hospitals been provided with sufficient number of standard ambulances. Most of the hospitals are even lacking basic facilities for dealing the trauma cases. City hospitals have been facing shortage of ventilators to cope with number of trauma cases in all such situations as have been obtaining in Kashmir valley for past almost three months. Even when doctors recommend critical patients to be put on ventilators, the hospital authorities cannot provide the equipment. And thus many succumb to injuries for lack of a facility like ventilator. The Medical Institute and health department do assert publicly that the hospitals are properly equipped and have adequate number of ventilators but fact of the matter is that all the hospitals in Kashmir valley are ill and under-equipped. The government needs not only to provide necessary emergency equipment to the hospitals but also initiate steps for construction of more hospitals in the State. While the government is duty bound to provide complete medical care to the people of the state the civil society also cannot escape the responsibility. Nineties, that witnessed unprecedented death and destruction, had many lessons for Kashmir civil society. It is true that medical fraternity during those critical years in spite of all the difficulties rose to the occasion but the Kashmir civil society has failed to learn a lesson. It in fact has failed to grow as a responsive and responsible society. There are scores of Muslim organizations and trusts working in Kashmir valley but none has so far endeavored to construct a specialized hospital for providing care to the trauma patients. To begin with such organizations should procure fully equipped ambulances for meeting the emergencies. The present situation has provided Kashmir yet another opportunity to think on such issues, and rise to the occasion.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST