R&B permits hospital to operate only 100 beds
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Mar 22: After struggling with putting in place the necessary arrangements for making the hospital operational, the Bone and Joints Hospital, Barzulla in Srinagar has finally started its emergency as well as the main operation theatre even as the Roads and Buildings has permitted the hospital to function with just 100-bed capacity.
After a massive fire that earlier engulfed the hospital in which most of the hospital building were gutted, majority of the patients were shifted to other nearby hospitals even as the emergency surgeries were also carried out away from the hospital while as the elective surgeries had come to a halt.
However, later, within 3 days, the hospital was also able to get the Out Patient Department (OPD) services up to cater to the healthcare needs of the people who reach the hospital from various parts of Kashmir Valley.
Medical Superintendent, Bone & Joints Hospital, Barzulla, Dr Mian Suhail, in this regard told Excelsior that after putting in place the necessary requirements, the emergency operation theatre has finally been started at the hospital.
“Now, we will be able to conduct the emergency operations at the hospital even as we have also started another operation theatre which is the main theatre and there we will be conducting the elective surgeries which were halted post fire incident at the hospital,” he said.
He said that the hospital authorities have been working tirelessly after the fire incident towards making sure that the hospital is made functional again. “It was a herculean task which we have been able to accomplish; as of now, we have our OPDs up and running, including the Operation Theatres,” he said.
However, on the other side, it has come to the fore that after the fire incident at the hospital, while a portion of the hospital housing wards was left unaffected, the R&B has not permitted to operate the hospital at full capacity; rather the hospital is currently operating at less than half the bed capacity.
As a whole, the hospital has a bed strength of over 250 beds while the R&B has given the clearance to the hospital for operating only 100 beds as of now, indicating that the hospital might not be able to cater to the larger healthcare needs of patients. Also, it is to be noted that the R&B earlier after the 2014 floods had declared the hospital building as unsafe.
In this regard, due to the paucity of beds at Bone & Joints Hospital, there still are several patients being referred to different hospitals in Srinagar in case they require elective surgeries, while as to decrease the patient load to the hospital from districts, the Health Department has started orthopaedic clinics in several Kashmir districts which are currently functioning.
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