The New Type Primary Health Centre (NTPHC) at Monbal, Langate is facing dearth of staff, making the patients suffer.
The hospital that caters to several upper reaches and remote villages including Lahikote, Changdi, Monbal, Bandi, Malikpora, Utroosa, Kelshan, Londa, Haril, Jahama and Sheikhpora is short of staff, increasing the hardships of the patients visiting it.
Residents said that the hospital set up two decades back had not seen any upgradation since then.
Azeem Hafeez Mir, a local said, in absence of specialist doctors at NTPHC Monbal, people in the snow-bound areas are forced to shoulder patients on bed frames for several kilometers to reach Handwara hospital for treatment.
Mushtaq Badana of Lahikote said only an ISM doctor with a few other staff members are deputed at NTPHC Monbal for a long time now.
Residents said that a dental surgeon used to visit the hospital few days a week but after his transfer last year, the dental section had been locked.
They also complained about lack of basic facilities in the hospital like X-ray, ECG and USG.
Nazir Ahmad War, a local, said that they had been demanding specialist doctors including a gynecologist for many years but to no avail.
The residents requested Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to personally look into the matter and redress their grievances.
Block Development Council Chairman, Mawer, Tahir Ahmad said that he had brought all these issues to the notice of the Director Health Services, Kashmir but nothing had happened so far.
“If a public representative’s pleas aren’t taken seriously then what people can anticipate from the authorities,” he said.
Block Medical Officer Langate, Dr Gowhar said he had written to the higher authorities for increasing the staff strength at the hospital and was optimistic about it.