The startling revelation has come to the fore, claiming that the District Hospitals in twin largely populated districts of Kashmir including Budgam and Ganderbal in central Kashmir are facing shortage of doctors and paramedical staff, thus putting burden on the tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The revelation has come to the fore through the RTIs. Reports said that the District Hospital Budgam has more than half-a-dozen unfilled doctor posts and around three dozens of Para-medical staff, stating that the hospital has a deficiency of at least seven doctors and 36 Para-medicos. Similarly, in District Hospital Ganderbal, at least 200 posts are lying vacant including doctors, Para-medics, technical and working staff. The hospital has 28 vacant posts of doctors of various fields. Additionally, 20 posts of medical officers are also unfilled. According to the report, the hospital has 200 posts unfilled. It is obvious that with the dearth of doctors and paramedical staff at these hospitals, the patients are being forced to visit other hospitals in Srinagar, thus putting the burden on the tertiary care hospitals here. One fails to understand why the authorities don’t take appropriate decisions to fill all the vacant posts and ensure the issue of shortage of doctors and paramedics is resolved. There are people who question the delay in filling the vacant posts, at a time when the government is claiming to ensure better health facilities to the people. The concerned department in order to fulfill the promises done with the people should consider filling the vacant posts at earliest so that the people living in these two districts will not be forced to face hardships and visit the other districts for treatment.
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