Srinagar, May 27: At a time when the J&K Government is boasting of having revamped its healthcare system, the “dreaded” GB Pant hospital, where more than 380 infant deaths took place this year so far, doesn’t seem to suggest so.
 In a bizarre instance of its kind, the State’s Medical Education Department is allegedly sitting over an order, issued in 2006, with regard to the appointment of super-specialties in the Valley’s lone children hospital in a bid to increase its manpower for efficient functioning. In 2006, according to the sources, the government issued an Order No 322 HME of 2006 Dated May 19, 2006, under which more than 200 posts of nurses, paramedics and super-specialist doctors were sanctioned for the GB Pant hospital “The order was issued a year after the hospital was shifted to its present location at Sonwar here,” they said.
 The order directed the Department to recruit specialized paramedical staff and doctors with super-specialization in ophthalmology, nephrology, radiology, microbiology, hematology, child psychology and dietician, sources said. 
 However, they alleged, the department has been sitting on the order since. “Almost all the posts under super-specialty and some paramedical posts were not referred to the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for the recruitment process,” the sources said.
 According to the sources, the issuance of the order for creation of more posts, including six super-specialty posts of doctors, became imperative as the hospital was witnessing a huge rush of patients in need of specialized treatment.
 The hospital has treated 2.6 lakh patients in 2009-10 against 1.8 lakh patients in 2006-07, reflecting an increasing pressure over the stagnant and poor infrastructure.
 Presently, the GB Pant has four separate units with around 12 Consultants, 10 Registrars, 12 House Surgeons and 20 postgraduates (junior doctors) for pediatric and neo-natal care. The paramedical staff consists of about 80 nurses and an equal number of senior and junior nursing orderlies.
 “But the faculty strength at the institute does not match the requirements,” medicos at the GB Pant hospital said.
 After the institute was shifted to the present location at Sonwar in 2005, its bed capacity was downsized from 175 to 135. “There is no explanation from the state authorities as to why this was done. Last year the hospital received almost 2.35 lakh OPD patients and above 26,000 in-patients,” the doctors said. “The rising number of deaths could have been avoided if the state government had worked on the order for appointing super-specialist doctors to treat specific diseases.”
 They said the number of patients with ailments in some specific organs or tissues is increasing with each passing day. “They don’t get proper treatment in the hospital in absence of super-specialists. The doctors either refer them to SKIMS, Soura or put them on medicines for longer period of time,” they said.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 27 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 27 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 IST