Shopian: The authorities may claim that they are fully prepared to deal with the challenge of Covid-19, but in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, which has 360 active cases of this disease, none of the health centres including the district hospital have a CT scan machine.

Shopian on Saturday reported 47 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

The CT scan machine is a vital instrument to check the severity of the Covid-19 disease and it gives more and precise information regarding the disease, particularly pneumonia.

Habeel Iqbal, an advocate from Shopian town, appealed to the lieutenant governer’s administration to pay attention to the need of CT Scan machine in the district. “District Shopian does not have one of the basic machines necessary for detecting the severity of Covid. We don’t even have a private lab with this facility in Shopian,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

A doctor working in the district for the past many years told Kashmir Reader that a CT scan machine is sorely needed for patients who are symptomatic and have ailment like pneumonia. He said that doctors are forced to refer the patients to Srinagar hospitals, which not only takes time but also worsens the condition of the patient.

Dr Muhammad Yousuf, a senior doctor, said, “Though we have no such critical patient but we do refer those who we feel are in need of a CT scan.”

Shopian hospital was upgraded as a district hospital almost two years ago but CT scan facility has not been brought to the district even after it has witnessed 42 deaths due to Covid-19 since last year.

Jahangir Ahmad, a local from Shopian, said that the lack of CT scan machine in any of the health centres in the district is adding to the problems of people when the valley is under lockdown. “The patients whose condition worsens are being sent to Srinagar hospitals at the 11th hour, which not only stresses the patients and attendants but also leads to deaths,” he said.

Dr Ramesh, Chief Medical Officer Shopian, told Kashmir Reader that they are meeting the need of CT scan with an ordinary x-ray.

“Though many other facilities were added during last year, the authorities are yet to sanction this machine. We already have conveyed messages regarding this machine to the higher-ups,” he said.

Raashid Hassan