SRINAGAR: The Minister for Education, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today said that doctors in Kashmir have given their sweat and blood towards their professional duties and have discharged duties in tough times.
“During the past 25 years of turmoil, the doctors in SMHS and SKIMS have worked day and night and played a great role in shaping health sector in Kashmir,” Bukhari said adding “Many of our reputed doctors lost their lives while serving the people at large.”
The Minister said this during the felicitation ceremony for the team of ‘Gift of Life’— a Rotary project to save the lives of children suffering from heart ailments and a team of doctors of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. The felicitation ceremony was organized by Rotary Club Rajouri.
On the occasion, Bukhari released the monthly newsletter of the project ‘Gift of Life’. It was informed that the project started in 2005 with the purpose to give new lease of life to children born of Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD).
Principal GMC Srinagar, Dr Samia Rashid, Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman, Member SSRB Musheer Ahmad Mirza, National Coordinator ‘Gift of Life’ A.C.Peter, Rotary District Governor Parvinderjeet Singh, Rotary District Trainer Upkar Singh Sethi, Organizer from Rajouri KK Langar and doctors and volunteers of Rotary from Amritsar, Jallandar, Jammu, Udhampur, Varanasi, Rajouri, Baramulla, Palampur, Delhi and Cochin were present on the occasion.
It was said that 300 children were screened at a CHD camp organized in Srinagar on August 6.
“87 children have been finalized for the heart surgery and 40 more children have been put for the follow-up programme,” the organizers said adding that these children will be operated for free of cost in Fortis Escort Hospital in Delhi. The actual cost of this surgery is three lakh rupees per patient.
Organizers said that more than 500 children have successfully undergone Open Heart Surgery during the last four years under ‘Gift of Life’ project.
Bukhari thanked the members of Rotary Project and Fortis Escorts Hospital for contributing their precious time and resources for the children of Kashmir. He said that the Government will work shoulder to shoulder for this noble cause of saving the lives of the children.
He said that the Government is ready to help those entrepreneurs and experienced doctors serving in different parts of world, who want to setup their health facilities here to improve health scenario in the state.
“The government will become facilitator for those who want to come up with quality health services at affordable prices for the improvement in health sector in J&K,” Bukhari said.
The Minister appealed the parents and the doctors’ fraternity to focus on the important aspect of child healthcare and said that there is a need for massive awareness campaign so that different diseases in children are detected at the early stage for effective treatment.
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