Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Feb 18: There is a shortage of medicines and other drugs at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) in Srinagar, attendants accompanying patients said on Friday.
The attendees alleged that they are being forced to purchase life saving drugs from open markets at exorbitant rates.
Patients along with attendants said that most of the medicines which are being prescribed to them at SMHS aren’t available due to which they are forced to buy them from outside.
Jahangir Ahmad an attendant said that he took his patient to SMHS who was complaining of pain in abdomen and after examining her doctor prescribed the pain killer injection to her.
He said that the prescribed pain killer was to be administered in an emergency but on asking staff there to provide the pain killer, they refused and said to bring it from outside.
Other attendants also alleged that they weren’t given some medicines even in an emergency “and if medicines aren’t available in an emergency, then where?”
Another attendant said that three medicines were prescribed to his patient but no one among them was available there.
“If such are the facilities available at the tertiary care hospital what will be the condition of hospitals in rural areas,” they said.
They further added that it is the poor section which is suffering while others can avail any private hospital.
They requested higher ups to look into the matter at an earliest and take immediate steps in this regard so that poor patients can heave a sigh of relief.
Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Kanwaljeet Singh rejected the allegations and said that all medicines are available in the hospital.
“Patients won’t take medicines on OPD tickets. If a doctor prescribes injections, patients can go to casualty and injections are being administered there,” he said.
“If patients remain admitted, after 24 hours they will get every medicine free,” Singh said.
