 Muneeb Ahmed
Jammu, June 3: At a time when COVID-19 cases are once again rising across Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of the country, serious questions are being raised once again about the healthcare infrastructure in the Union Territory.
Due to a shortage of beds at GMC Hospital Jammu, a patient was made to lie on the floor with an IV drip on his hand. A male patient, who was admitted to General Surgery Ward at GMC Jammu, was later forced to share his bed when another patient was admitted.
Owing to the lack of available beds, the newly admitted patient was adjusted onto the same bed (Bed No. …..). In protest, the original patient got off the bed and sat on the floor. Despite his protest, the on-duty doctors ignored him and left him there. After some time, the nursing staff came and administered the IV drip while he was still lying on the floor.
Upon speaking with a few other patients in the "This is not a hospital anymore, it's a waiting room for suffering. If this is the condition in a hospital like GMC Jammu, what hope is left for smaller towns?”
“This is not a hospital anymore, it’s a waiting room for suffering,” said one attendant, requesting anonymity. “If this is the condition in a hospital like GMC Jammu, what hope is left for smaller towns?”
If such scenes are becoming routine at one of the region’s leading medical institutions, it raises serious concerns about preparedness and compassion in patient care especially in a time when public health should be the highest priority.
This incident adds to a growing list of complaints regarding patient neglect in hospitals across the region, highlighting an urgent need for reform in healthcare infrastructure and accountability mechanisms. | 