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| Kashmir's top hospital bereft of life- saving drugs | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 14: Despite being Kashmir's prime tertiary-care hospital, the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS) Soura lacks basic life saving drugs, putting the lives of patients at risk.
The hospital has turned a "money minting machine" for the administration, with patients being charged for every investigation.
The SKIMS Soura on an average registers 2000-2500 patients per day, where 8-10 deaths are reportedly taking place on an average daily. Mocking at the tall-claims of the government that SKIMS would be at par with AIIMS New Delhi, insiders said the authorities have failed to make some life-saving drugs available at the hospital, forcing people to purchase them from the drug-store or market during the time of emergency. "The Institute is unable to provide much-needed drugs to patients for various ailments.
Some life-saving drugs- Amiodarone, Isoprenaline, Nitroglycerin, Atracurium Propofol most of times are not available here, putting the lives of helpless patients at risk," a senior official revealed.
He said Nitroglycerin is being used to treat heart patients and is mandatory to be available 24-hours at the hospital. Ironically, insiders said there is no stitching material available and patients have to purchase it from drug-stores during the emergency.
"It is unfortunate that muscle relaxants are not available in this so called prime tertiary care hospital. Even we don't have Savlon available here, that is being used by the medicos to wash hands before performing the surgery of a patient," a group of medicos said, "how can you call it tertiary care hospital? Outside the state, these medicines are available even in district hospitals". Not only much-needed life saving drugs, the post-operative ward has been dissolved and the post-surgery patients are now being attended in general wards, posing them a threat to get infected.
Medicos said the post-surgery patients are usually getting infected after being attended in general wards. For every investigation, which were free of cost earlier are now being charged heavily.
Patients complain that they are burdened with the additional amount for investigations. "This hospital has become a money minting machine for the authorities, where the poor patients are being charged for each service at the Institute," a senior medico said. |
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