Asif Iqbal
Srinagar, Nov 29 (GNS): Valley’s premier Chest Diseases (CD) Hospital, considered Kashmir’s primary referral centre for respiratory ailments, continues to operate without several essential facilities, leaving patients struggling for even the most basic diagnostic and mobility support.
Despite catering to thousands of patients suffering from asthma, COPD, interstitial lung diseases and post-COVID complications, the hospital, as learnt by GNS, is grappling with a range of defunct and unavailable equipment. Key diagnostic tools including Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) machines, allergy testing systems, bronchoscopes and the other advanced procedure equipment like Endobronchial Ultrasound setup have been lying non-functional for months, severely hampering investigations.
Adding to the crisis, the hospital spread across an inclined terrain and housing elderly and severely breathless patients does not have a functional lift. Patients, including those on oxygen support, are forced to climb steep pathways and staircases to access various units, putting them at further risk.
When GNS sought clarification, a chain of blame-shifting among the hospital administration raised further questions about accountability.
Medical Superintendent Dr. Sameena declined to provide details and directed the matter to another senior doctor, Dr. Khursheed Ahmad Dar. However, Dr. Dar said he was “not authorised to speak on administrative issues” and redirected the query to the hospital’s administration.
Administrator Associated Hospitals Mohammad Ashraf Hakak, when contacted, said he would need to consult other doctors to confirm the status of the equipment and infrastructural lapses. He assured that he would revert after gathering the details, but no response was received.
Despite making repeated phone calls, Principal Medical College Iffat Hassan Shah didn’t attend any.
The continued absence of crucial facilities at a specialised hospital has drawn widespread criticism from patients and attendants who say they feel “abandoned” by a system meant to treat the Valley’s most vulnerable respiratory cases.
“How can a Chest Diseases Hospital run without basic diagnostic machines?” asked an attendant outside the OPD block. “Our patients are being told to get tests done privately for thousands of rupees. Those who cannot afford it simply go untreated.”
Healthcare workers within the facility, speaking off record, admitted that several machines had been lying out of service due to delayed procurement, lack of maintenance contracts and administrative indifference.
With winter respiratory infections already surging, the hospital’s poor preparedness has sparked heightened concern, and despite the seriousness of the issue, the silence from the administration remains conspicuous. (GNS)
