Anantnag: Work at the Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH), here in Anantnag town, remains seriously hampered for the fact that there is no Medical Superintendent (MS) post allotted to the hospital and the overall work is monitored by a toothless Medical Officer.
The hospital, in Sherbagh area of Anantnag town, is the only such hospital in south Kashmir and draws thousands of people to it from across the four districts of south Kashmir and even from the Chenab Valley region.
Sources at the hospital told Kashmir Reader that even the smallest of decisions for the betterment of the hospital are to be sent to the higher-ups in writing, for their approval.
“And most of the days it takes months at a stretch to get the smallest of things done,” the sources told Kashmir Reader, adding that the acting MS not having drawing and disbursing powers was only a minuscule part of it.
The sources said that the acting MS of the hospital is not legally competent to even seek explanations from erring employees, be it the doctors or any other staff.
“He will be rebuked by the doctors for not having the powers to pull them up,” the sources said.
Or, for that matter, the sources said, the acting MS cannot order any remedy to a problem at the hospital. “For example, a wall is broken, dogs have become a menace at the hospital, the ACs in the wards are not working and we have been using harmful gas heaters in their place. The acting MS does not have any powers to fix these things,” the sources said, adding that he has to write to the Principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag for even AC repairs.
The doctors at the hospital lamented the apathy on the part of the government which has left the institute headless.
“This seriously hampers the working of the hospital. There should have been an MS post and there should be someone who should have the powers to run the hospital smoothly,” a doctor at the hospital said.
The doctor said that he understands that none of the MS’s under a GMC has drawing and disbursing powers but then there should be someone to have the powers to take certain administrative decisions.
Kashmir Reader talked to Principal GMC Anantnag, Dr Showkat Jeelani, who acknowledged that it was a problem. “We have written to the government for the creation of an MS post at the hospital on priority basis,” Jeelani said, adding that he was hopeful the government will take a decision soon.

Suhail A Shah