Suhail Rather
Bandipora, 09 Dec: Much to the inconvenience of the general public in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, the district hospital is without an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.
As per official records, Bandipora has 103 health facilities, including the district hospital, three community health centres, 27 new primary health centres, 71 sub-centres, and a nursing school.
Even in cases of minor ailments, “Patients are simply referred to Srinagar,” said Tawkeer Ahmad, a resident of Bandipora, while sharing his own experience.
The hospital caters to patients from not only Bandipora town but also from dozens of adjacent villages. These people remain completely dependent on the facility for their healthcare needs.
“The dearth of doctors has turned the district hospital into a first aid centre as patients only receive first aid and are then referred to Srinagar for treatment,” said, Irshad Ahmad.
One of the locals said that my daughter was in urgent need of an ENT consultation due to nose bleeding, but due to the unavailability of ENT here, I had to rush her to a sub-district hospital in Sopore for her treatment.
The sources say that the worst affected are people visiting the hospital from places other than the main town.
“We now know that the hospital does not have an ENT specialist and act accordingly, but the people visiting the hospital from other villages take the long commute to the hospital, only to find that there is no doctor available here,” locals said.
“It is strange that the district hospital is without an ENT specialist while the sub-district hospital has this facility,” he added.
They said that they have been moving from pillar to post to get the attention of the authorities, but to no avail. “Every day, hundreds of people suffer because of the non-availability of a doctor here at the District Hospital. The authorities remain unmoved, and no steps whatsoever have been taken so far,” locals said.
The government’s failure to fill up the vacant posts of ENT specialists at the district hospital has also evoked resentment among locals.
“The entire population is suffering owing to the negligence of the authorities in filling up the posts. We appeal to the authorities to fill up these positions on a priority basis,” said Ishfaq, a resident of Bandipora town.
Meanwhile, the locals have appealed to the Lieutenant Governor to address the problems at District Hospital Bandipora.
