Srinagar, May 28: While Valley’s sole children specialty, GB Pant Hospital, continues to be sick due to lack of healthcare facilities and defunct equipment, the State’s Medical Education Department is allegedly sitting on a proposal for appointment of bio-medical engineers to maintain machinery in the associated hospitals of Government Medical Colleges in JK.
In a bizarre instance of its kind, the proposal has been grounded allegedly due to failure of the Medical Education Department (MED) to pursue the case with General Administration Department, sources said.
The proposal that was aimed at employing specialized engineers and technicians to maintain diagnostic and critical care equipments on regular basis to save public exchequer from the unnecessary Annual Maintenance Costs has failed to take off due to alleged indifference of the department even after the announcement by the Minister for Medical and Technical Education, RS Chib in the Assembly last year.
Officials said the recommendations for the approval of proposed engineering wings at Government Medical College and Hospitals Jammu and Government Medical College and Hospitals Srinagar were sent to GAD last year following the announcement by the Minister.
The Minister had maintained that it was necessary to open a separate wing in these institutions to ensure the maintenance of equipments purchased for past few years and new ones to be brought in future.
Official documents revealed the Commissioner Secretary Health and Medical Education received several communications from Government Medical Colleges and the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) of both regions about the “dire need” of such engineers.
GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals have an immediate requirement of 13 service engineers, 18 technicians and 10 assistant technicians, while GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals have a dire need of 14 service engineers, 17 technicians and 15 assistant technicians.
Similarly, the DHS in Kashmir and Jammu have conveyed an urgent need of Medical Electronic Engineers.
The problem is more acute in health centers at district level which have to face a major problem in case of any fault. “At times machines remain out of order for days and weeks together as there are no engineering staff to take care of these. Either these are sent outside the state or engineers are brought from private manufactures which is very cumbersome process”, officials complain.
Officials said that the major equipments installed in different departments of medical colleges are non-functional which need minor or major repairs. “This is a major problem, we have to wait for the repair work for days together as we don’t have much trained staff. At times just a minor fault puts the machine out of order for days,” said an insider.
Sources said the situation is terrible not only in the GB Pant Hospital but other hospitals are also suffering as there is no regular bio-medical engineering staff looking after the machines.
The situation in critical care wards, operation theaters and Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of GB Pant is terrible as the ventilators and other equipments are in bad and unhygienic condition.
“The improper functioning of such equipments can also be the major cause behind the death of babies,” sources claimed.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 IST