Srinagar, Dec 19: A distressing scene unfolded in Handwara on Friday when attendants were forced to push a patient on a trolley along the main road for nearly one kilometre to reach a private diagnostic centre after being told that the CT scan machine at Government Medical College Handwara was out of order.
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he video of the patient being wheeled through a busy market has drawn widespread public reaction online, with many netizens expressing shock over the state of healthcare services.
Relatives of the patient, who they said is suffering from multiple ailments, told Kashmir News Trust that they had brought him to GMC Handwara for treatment and possible admission. However, they were informed that the CT scan machine was not functional. The family further alleged that even an ambulance was not made available, with staff citing that the vehicle had already gone to ferry another patient.
With no option provided by the hospital, the attendants placed the patient on a trolley and moved him through the main road towards a private clinic. Locals standing by watched as the patient was slowly pushed along the street, a moment many described as distressing and emblematic of systemic gaps in essential healthcare services.
Bystanders said it was painful to witness the patient being moved in such conditions while vehicles and pedestrians passed by. Several onlookers recorded the scene, and the video later circulated widely on social media, prompting criticism of the preparedness and infrastructure at GMC Handwara. [KNT]