People of Hajin in district Bandipora complained against poor facilities and lack of doctors at the community health centre (CHC) Hajin, which has been established way back in 1960.
According to locals they are being forced to travel to either CHC Sumbal or hospitals in Srinagar even for minor injuries.
“My father developed pain in his abdomen during night a few days back. I took him to CHC Hajin with the hope that he will be treated well there. But just for blood count test I was forced to take my father to Srinagar hospital, some 50-kilometres from my home in the dead of night,” said Irfan Ahmad Bhat.
“The doctors refused to perform the test at the CHC,” Irfan added.
Dozens of other patients have a similar story to tell.
An insider in the CHC said the centre has a well-equipped gynaecology room but “there is no gynaecologist.”
Reliable sources said that the gynaecology ward is being “managed” by “untrained nurses”.
A technician told this reporter that a patient has to wait for two months to get a USG done at the centre. “The USG is done only on one day in a week,” he said.
Sources said the hospital had been allotted some critical machinery-equipment way back in 1978. “These machines are not working properly now.”
Sources said the machines including the ECG, USG, X-ray, etc. are not working properly because they are too old.
This reporter saw the X-rays were performed in a corridor of the centre.
The doctors complained lack of infrastructure. “The centre gets huge flow of patients and we are not able to treat them well because the hospital machines have long stopped working,” they said.
The CHC was established by then Prime Minister of J&K, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad in 1960.
Even after 58 years, nothing seems to have been done to develop infrastructure at the centre, resulting in suffering of the patients who come from far off places.
“The facilities and the staff at the centre are of the PHC level only,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, president, traders’ federation Hajin.
This health facility has been neglected by the successive governments, he said.
Locals complained that even the basic medicines are not available at the facility. “We are asked to purchase the surgical gloves, injections, and other basic medicines from the market,” an attendant said.
Sources said that some paramedical staff in the hospital were there for last 20-years. “They are not transferred for they enjoy political patronage.”
Sources said the construction of the building for the centre was taken up in 2013, which is still incomplete.
Besides catering to about 30 adjoining villages, over 50,000 souls of Hajin are dependent on the centre for their health needs.
Chief medical officer Bandipora Dr Bilquees didn’t respond to the telephone calls by this reporter. Attempts to reach BMO Hajin Tariq Ahmad for his comment also proved futile.