Srinagar, May 21: Lack of healthcare facilities at district level is forcing people to shift their children to GB Pant Hospital here for treatment which in turn is showing impact on the medicare at the institute, the newly appointed Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Prof Muneer Masoodi.
 “In absence of specialized treatment in the remote villages, the GB Pant Hospital has shown an increasing trend in patient inflow from these villages. This is why the children hospital has recorded high infant mortality rate during past few years,” Prof Masoodi told reporters.
 “Almost 90-95 percent of the patients admitted in the hospital are from remote villages like Ramban, Uri, Banihal, etc. They don’t have specialists in their villages, so they have to travel long distance to reach here,” Prof Masoodi said.
 “Most of the cases usually come here with various complications with minute chances of survival,” he said.
 Terming infant mortality rate in the institute in accordance with the ‘national phenomenon’, Prof Masoodi said the children die due to various complications like premature birth and low birth weight, sepsis, birth asphyxia and trauma, pneumonia and diarrhea.
 Replying to a query about the present functioning of the hospital, the Medical Superintendent said that his priority would be to implement the national scheme by which the patients would be provided free medicines and examination.
 “The drug mafia that was allegedly running in the hospital would be strictly banned and anybody found involved will be dealt with serious punishment,” the MS said.
 “The neo-natal care is the critical care and attendant control and proper sanitation is must. And I have already given tough guidelines to all to take due care of the hospital hygiene,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 IST