No USG, ECG or X-Ray available at MCCH Anantnag after 6 PM

No USG, ECG or X-Ray available at MCCH Anantnag after 6 PM

Anantnag: At south Kashmir’s only Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH), here in Sher Bagh area of Anantnag town, the Radiology section remains defunct through evenings and nights, much to the horror of the patients arriving at the hospital from not only Anantnag but from other southern districts as well.
The Radiology block of the hospital houses the USG section, the X-Ray, and the ECG sections. None of these services are available for patients arriving at the hospital past 6:00 PM, as no doctor or even technician is available.
“We have to send the patients to the Medical College hospital in Janglat Mandi if they are in need of these services,” a source at the hospital told Kashmir Reader.
Sources said that, often, crucial time in case of a critical patient is lost in commute to and from the GMC hospital.
MCCH in Sher Bagh is the only such hospital in the entire south Kashmir, and also receives many patients from areas in the Chenab valley region.
“Every evening and throughout the night, dozens of patients get referred from sub-district and even district hospitals to this facility, with the hope that pregnant women will get better care here. Imagine not having a USG or an ECG facility available for them. It is a shame,” the sources at the hospital said.
Some patients that Kashmir Reader talked to said that it takes them more than an hour to get the USG or an ECG done at GMC Anantnag. “Besides, the commute between the two hospitals is a nightmare in night hours. Everyone does not own a vehicle,” Nadeem Ahmad, a resident of main town Anantnag, told Kashmir Reader.
Ahmad had to take his pregnant wife to the hospital recently and had to rush to the GMC at midnight to get a USG done. “And I am a local. Imagine the plight of the people coming from other parts of the valley,” Ahmad said.
Sources at the hospital said that there was no Senior Resident or even a technician to keep the Radiology block functioning at the hospital through the night. “We have been raising this issue with the administration, but no one seems to be listening,” they said.
Kashmir Reader talked to the Principal of the Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, Dr Tariq Qureshi, who said that the issue has been sorted out now.
“I have talked to HoD Radiology today and a doctor has been assigned to the facility. The facility will function through the night as well now,” Qureshi told this reporter.
Asked how long will it take, Qureshi said that the doctor might join in a day or two, following which the section will remain functional. The question, however, remains whether a single doctor can handle the whole section throughout the night.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.