Srinagar, Jan 16: Patients admitted in various hospitals here had to face a tough time today due to non-availability of doctors and improper facilities.   
 Few inches of snowfall today affected the functioning of all the major hospitals including SMHS, Lal Ded and GB Panth here causing immense inconvenience to the patients and their attendants.  
 At SMHS hospital people staged protests this afternoon against the non-availability of ambulances. The protest erupted after a family from Shopian was allegedly denied ambulance to ferry body of a woman.
 “My mother died this afternoon and I approached the medical superintendent of the hospital for providing me the ambulance to ferry her body to back home. But he refused to provide me the service saying that ambulance can’t be send to such a long distance,” Muhammad Amin, son of the deceased woman told Greater Kashmir.
 Amin said he had to wait amidst snowfall with the body for three hours till his relatives reached there with a vehicle.
 Meanwhile, attendants of patients in the hospitals alleged that the doctors were not present there during evening hours.
 Source said in Valley’s lone maternity hospital Lal Ded, the shortage of paramedical staff and doctors had delayed discharge of 20 patients from the hospital.
 Muhammad Latief of Islamabad alleged that his wife was supposed to be discharged few days ago. “I have been searching for the concerned doctor but couldn’t find him,” he said.
 The attendants, who accompanied their children to GB Pant hospital, alleged that no doctor had visited wards during evening hours.
 “After 12 noon, all doctors disappear from the wards. In case any complication occurs or our kids need consultation, we have to carry them to the casualty section,” alleged Mushtaq Ahmad of Pattan, who son is undergoing treatment in the hospital. 
 Chaos and confusion was witnessed in the corridors of GB Panth hospital as the attendants had occupied it complete in absence of a separate space.
 Although, the attendants in most of the hospitals expressed satisfaction over the heating system and electricity supply but the inadequate water supply is giving tough time to them from last few days.
 Istiyaq Hassan of Pattan alleged the wards received inadequate water supply causing problems to the patients. The unhygienic condition in bathrooms and wards has aggravated the patients problems. During on-the-spot assessment different wards and rooms of GB Panth, this reporter found huge cockroach population present in its wards.
 “There is every chance that infants are at risk of infection or swallowing them by chance,” Haleema, an attendant from Pohru Nowgam said.
 At SMHS hospital the situation was no different. A good number of rats could be seen moving in the wards. “Is this hospital for humans or animals?” Gowhar Muzaffar of Hawal questioned.
 “If we count dogs and rats in and around hospital complex, they will outnumber human population,” he added.
 When contacted the Medical Superintendents of SMHS and LD hospitals refused to comment on the issues. “We cannot talk on the issue as we are not at the helm of affairs,” they said.
 Only Medical Superintendent of GB Pant hospital Dr Kaiser gave his version about the problems in the hospital. 
 “Absence of attendants shed is the biggest hurdle in the process of accommodating good number of attendants coming to the hospital. We have already sent a request to the higher ups for the construction of the attendant shed to relieve pressure from the hospital,” he said.
 On the absence of doctors during evening hours he said: “In emergency wards, the doctors remain available round the clock. In cold wards the doctors make rounds twice a day. In case of emergency the attendants can immediately contact causality department.”

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST