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| SKIMS spent Rs 3.59 cr on non-existent hospital during floods | | Wastage of govt exchequer | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 21: The devastating floods of the Century that hit Kashmir in Sept 2014 left behind shocking tales as the primary tertiary care, Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences is learnt to have spent Rs 3.59 cr on a 200-bedded makeshift hospital at its Sarai (hospital Inn) - a hospital that lasted for a week or so without its existance .
The SKIMS authorities instead of organizing medical camps at various places of flood affected city and valley as was done by NGOs, Army, Police, Local Volunteers, Mohalla Committees, were allegedly aiming at having a "big bite" in order to create the makeshift hospital.
Sources alleged that despite having their staff of nearly 7000 people in Soura and Bemina,no one was deputed to various devastated areas in Srinagar and other places across Kashmir and the administration was busy creating arrangements for the makeshift hospital.
"Instead of boosting the facility at SKIMS and JVC Hospital (SKIMS Medical College) Bemina, why was this huge amount spent on the makeshift hospital which doesn't exist now?" sources asked.
"The staff members of JVC Bemina were forced to attend SKIMS Soura even though there was no connectivity as is evident from various controversial SMSs sent by Director SKIMS in Sept 2014. People needed services in Eastern and Southern Srinagar and not in North where Soura SKIMS is located and that too was cut off via Qamarwari, Karan Nagar, Lal Chowk and Nishat, so there was no need of a temporary hospital there," they said.
Sources said that the Director, SKIMS, Dr Shawkat Ali Zargar, had proposed to the then Chief minister, Omar Abdullah government to release Rs 3.59 crore for a temporary hospital and misguided him that JVC Hospital is non functional who without verifying said the same in ET Urdu news on 30th Sept that JVC is non functional and is not a priority though it was functional on 28th Sept,2014 as is evident from the circular from Medical Superintendent (SKIMS/MCH/2014/1877 Dated 27-09-2014).
"It's unfortunate. They spent a whopping sum on the makeshift hospital but they didn't bother to improve the services in the functional hospital of JVC or in SKIMS Soura," said a senior faculty at SKIMS, wishing not to be named.
"Director insisted government that supplies should reach Soura within one week to make the temporary hospital functional. Even after four months (post floods) temporary hospital does not exist," the faculty member said, adding the flood-hit hospitals already started functioning fully by Oct-Nov 2014. However the makeshift hospital was still considered as a "priority" by the SKIMS authorities.The annexure A attached to the Proposal shows 200 beds worth Rs 78 lacs and that too to be procured in one week. Where are these beds and when were they procured? Huge amount of Rs 52 lacs was spent on office furniture?
"The ground reality is that during September, SKIMS had less than 30 per cent patients attending its OPD and wards and casualty had nearly 60 per cent beds vacant," said another faculty at SKIMS. "The medical staff could have been spared to provide health services and support to community by organising Medical camps in the flood affected areas. Even the absence of doctors in SKIMS Soura was communicated to Prime Minster in an open letter published in news paper CITIZEN by an Army Officer's wife, Mrs Reena Arora Verma [http://thecitizen.in/NewsDetail.aspx?Id=552].
According to official documents, also lying with this office, the flood waters had receded earliest from JVC Hospital and the same was completely dry as is evident from the fact that NGOs organized camp at the gate of the hospital. However, sources said that SKIMS was "reluctant" to start that hospital which the Staff of JVC managed to start and was fully functional as is evident from the circular from Medical Superintendent (SKIMS/MCH/2014/1877 Dated 27-09-2014 ).
The functioning of JVC hospital could create hurdles for his purpose of projecting a temporary hospital at SKIMS Soura as he had projected that JVC is unsafe while as R&B declared it safe. It is strange that during the September 2014 floods, terming the buildings as 'unsafe', the director of the prestigious SKIMS, Showkat Ahmad Zargar, asked the authorities to relocate the JVC medical college and its associated hospital. The R&B department officials "brushed aside" the apprehensions of Zargar, saying that the buildings were safe for resuming normal operations. "One of the buildings has a crack in one of its walls which happened in 2005 earthquake. Otherwise, most of the buildings are safe," an official who didn't wish to be named, said.
Medical Superintendent, SKIMS, Dr Farooq Jan said that the need for establishing 160 bedded hospital was need of the hour as a huge influx of patients were received from Bone and Joints hospital, LD hospital, GB Panth, and other periphery hospitals. And most of the orthopaedic patients reported to SKIMS because the director had closed the orthopaedics OPD in JVC. "Most of the prominent hospitals were inundated and we got huge rush of patients from these hospitals," he said. Asked what the expenditure for the makeshift hospital, he said that he needs to first see documents for that. "I am not sure about it. I can't tell you the exact details," he said, adding "The hospital played a good role in reaching out to the flood-hit people and I think we did our job. The patients Sarai was just handed over as OPD to H1N1 patients." |
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