Srinagar, May 25: GB Pant Hospital where more than 385 infants have died during the past five months is running on a paltry budget, one of the major causes of sad affairs in the institute.
The data available with the hospital administration says that it has an annual budget of Rs 13 crores, of which Rs 9 crores are spent on staff salaries that include doctors, nurses, other para-medical staff and sweepers. The remaining Rs 4 crores are spent on drugs, equipment, patient-care, etc.
In the Rs 4 crores, the hospital administration has to manage electricity tariff, transport and sanitation. According to a senior doctor of the hospital, around Rs 2 crores are spent on drugs. “In the remaining two crores you have to manage the repair of the equipments, transport, sanitation and electricity,” he said.
The data further mentions that during last year, 3 lakh patients have visited the hospital. Among them, 30,000 were admitted. The data mentions that most of the patients who get admitted in the hospital are from the remote areas.
“Once a patient is admitted, he has to be given drugs, care and other facilities,” said the doctor. “If a child suffers from severe headache, he has to undergo CT scan and it costs more than three thousand rupees,” adds the doctor, asking where from the money would come.
“If any machine develops snag, there is no money for its repair and it affects the care of patients,” he said.
“This is the one of the reasons that patients do not get the expected care,” the doctor said and claimed that the issue had been brought into the notice of higher ups many times. “We have communicated to government many times about the poor budget,” the doctor said.
Medical Superintendent GB Pant Hospital, Dr Muneer Masoodi said that he was busy in bringing the hospital back on track. “Yet I have concentrated on the budget factor. I will look into that once there is improvement,” he said.

MALHOTRA FOR IMPROVING FACILITIES:
With a view to discuss public importance issues and their immediate redressal through concerned departments, the Chairman J&K Legislative Council Amrit Malhotra conveyed General Purpose Committee Members meeting here today.
The Committee besides other important issues discussed recent infant death issue in GB Pant Children Hospital Srinagar.
The members expressed their concern on this incident and urged that government should take all possible measures to improve the healthcare facilities in the hospital. They also stressed for taking strict action against officials who play with the lives of kids.
Malhotra while underscoring the need for improving healthcare and other basic facilities across the state, stressed upon the concerned departments to pay focused heed in delivering quality facilities, which government has kept available for the people of the state.
The Chairman urged the Committee members to take up issues of public importance with the concerned quarters for action.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman Legislative Council M. Y. Taing and members Naresh Kumar Gupta, Ghulam Qadir Pardesi, Secretary Legislative Council, M. A. Mir, Deputy Secretary Muhammad Maqbool Bhat and other senior officers of Council Secretariat.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 IST