Uri, Aug 9: The absence of child specialists and non-functioning of some of the important equipments in Sub-District Hospital Uri is adversely affecting the patient care in the health centre.
 “Due to the absence of pediatrician in the hospital we have to shift our ailing children to the hospital in Baramulla, which is a cumbersome exercise,” the locals told Greater Kashmir.
 According to them, the shifting of ailing children becomes a humongous task during the night. “When the children complains of pain or any other type of sickness during the dead of the night, the parents find it immensely difficult to take them to the Baramulla hospital for treatment,” the locals said adding the children have to bear the pain during the night till they are taken to the Baramulla district in the wee hours.
 “My son developed chest pain during a windy night and we couldn’t take him to the Baramulla hospital due to the inclement weather conditions. Me and my wife felt hapless as we saw our son in pain,” Abdul Qadir a local told Greater Kashmir.
 “Due to the absence of a child specialist in the hospital, I had to take my daughter to Baramulla twice during the last week, which is about 50 kilometers from here,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a local resident.
 According to the residents, the shifting of ailing children to the Baramulla hospital becomes immensely difficult during the winters, particularly when snow gets accumulated on the roads.
 “The authorities should appoint a pediatrician in the hospital at an earliest as the people are facing hardships in taking their ailing kids to the Baramulla,” the locals said.
 They said that they brought the matter into the notice of senior functionaries of the district administration and concerned Health Department many a times. “However nothing substantial has been done so far,” the locals added.
 The locals also complained that the Ultra Sonography (USG) machine in the hospital had developed some technical snag and was lying defunct from the last four months. “The patients are forced to undergo the test at privately run diagnostic centres and shelve huge amount of money,” the locals said.
 They said that they repeatedly raised the issue with the hospital administration seeking repair of the machine. “But our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” the locals added. 
 When contacted Block Medical officer, Uri, Dr. Farooq Sheikh said, “The post has are already been advertised. It will take about a week for the process to complete and a doctor will be appointed very soon”.
 He said the USG machine had been sent for repair as it was not working.  “New machine worth Rs 8 lakh has already been sanctioned and it will be installed in a week,” he added.

Reports compiled by Nayeem Showkat Khan

Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST