Srinagar, Nov. 27: Residents of the border town of Uri in the Baramulla district of north Kashmir have requested that pediatricians be on call at the Sub-District Hospital (SDH) in Uri for the whole week.
A group of residents informed Greater Kashmir that they were suffering as a result of the weekly shortage of doctors.
SDH Uri receives visits from a pediatric consultant from Anantnag exclusively on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. An additional physician, formerly assigned to SDH Sopore, has been linked to Uri Hospital; however, his availability is limited to Saturdays. However, no pediatrician is on duty at the hospital on other days of the week, according to Mukhtar Ahmad, a resident of Garkote village.
He added that on Friday of last week, his daughter became ill. “When I went to SDH Uri, there was not a pediatrician on staff. I then had to see a doctor, but the medication they gave me wasn’t working at the time.
“I visited the hospital again today in the afternoon to see a pediatrician, but I was informed that the physician had left early,” the man said.
Local resident Bashir Ahmad Bhat said that his brother’s kid had been unwell a few days before. He stated, “We took him to SDH Uri in the middle of the night, but there was no pediatrician there.”
He said that they are calling for the posting of more pediatricians at this facility. He remarked, “It is regrettable that local authorities are not informing higher-ups about the true state of our hospitals; otherwise, they would make the necessary efforts to improve healthcare.”
Locals said that in order to provide their children with routine checkups, they are compelled to make daily trips to the hospitals in Baramulla and Srinagar.
They said that since this is a border location, “the non-serious attitude in appointing the children specialists here severely affects the healthcare system.”
BMO Uri Dr. Balwinder Singh said that he has brought up the matter with higher authorities. He remarked, “They have guaranteed that all of the open positions will be filled.”
Greater Kashmir was informed by CMO Baramulla Dr. Bashir Ahmad that a recent discussion about the matter was held at the directorate office. He said, “I’m sure they’ll send a doctor soon.”
