H&ME Deptt fails to create posts during past many years
*No manpower to operate CT Scan, other machinery
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 3: Taking serious note of ‘traumatic’ condition of Trauma Hospital Ramban, which was constructed nearly one decade back, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal has issued notice to the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through Secretary of Health and Medical Education Department with the direction to file status report.
EXCELSIOR in its edition dated May 19, 2020 had published a news-item titled “Trauma Hospital Ramban non-functional for last 10 years”. Chief Justice of J&K High Court Justice Gita Mittal after going through the news-paper passed directions for registration of report as Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
Accordingly, the writ petition was placed before a Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice Gita Mittal. “The news-paper report shows that the Trauma Hospital is non-functional on account of shortage of staff and infrastructure”, the DB observed.
Taking serious note of ‘traumatic’ condition of Trauma Hospital, the DB issued notice to the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department to show cause as to why this writ petition be not admitted to further hearing.
The DB, while impleading Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department as respondent, has directed him to file a status report positively before next date of hearing. Moreover, the DB has appointed Advocate Monika Kohli as Amicus Curiae in the matter.
Now, the matter has been listed on June 16, 2020.
It is pertinent to mention here that EXCELSIOR has repeatedly highlighted the fate of not only Ramban Trauma Hospital but other such institutions in various parts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which have been constructed with the objective of providing timely and specialized treatment particularly to the victims of road accidents and natural calamities.
However, those at the helm of affairs in the Health and Medical Education Department have yet not paid any serious attention towards the ‘ill-equipped’ and ‘ill-managed’ Trauma Hospitals as a result of which the objective behind their construction could not be achieved till date.
As far as Trauma Hospital at Ramban is concerned, it was constructed by spending an amount of Rs 1.84 crore and even several vital medical equipments were also installed so as to provide timely and specialised treatment particularly to the victims of road accidents taking place on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Ramban district.
Shockingly, not even single post of doctor or para-medical staff has been sanctioned for this Trauma Hospital despite the lapse of nearly one decade and its functioning is being managed by making internal arrangement of the doctors posted in the District Hospital Ramban, said a senior doctor of the Health Department posted in the district while wishing anonymity.
“Being Level-II Trauma Hospital, it was supposed to provide round the clock services of General Surgeons and Specialists of Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Anaesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Radiology and Critical Care. However, no separate doctors have been posted there for want of creation of posts”, he informed.
The Ramban Trauma Hospital is equipped with ventilators, CT Scan and other vital machinery but there is no qualified manpower to operate these machines as a result of which these mostly remain unutilized, the doctor said, adding “a number of times the difficulty being faced in operating these machines and necessity of creating and filling posts of doctors and para-medical staff for this Trauma Hospital was brought to the notice of senior officers but the situation has not improved till date”.
The doctor, who is well-versed with the manpower status of other health institutions in the Ramban district said, “even District Hospital Ramban and Community Health Centres of Banihal, Batote and Gool don’t have sufficient number of doctors and para-medical staff”, adding “all the health institutions in the district are functioning with around 40% manpower and the people are suffering a lot even after all out efforts by the available manpower”.
He admitted that expenditure worth several crores of rupees on the structure and equipments of the Trauma Hospital has turned out to be unfruitful for want of required manpower. “It is because of this reason that there is no end to the practice of referring persons sustaining injuries in the accidents and natural calamities particularly landslides to the Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu”, the doctor added.
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