In a first, GMC Anantnag installs high-end endoscopic workstation

Anantnag, Dec 26: The Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag became the first college in the Union Territory to have an advanced state-of-the-art endoscopic workstation installed, said GMC Anantnag Principal Prof. Rukhsana Najeeb on Thursday.
Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, GMC Principal, inaugurated the state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology-based endoscopic gastro workstation in the Department of General Medicine, GMC Anantnag.
GMC Principal said that GMC Anantnag is the first medical college in the Union Territory to install a high-end gastro workstation. This state-of-the-art machine enables advanced procedures like endoscopic submucosal dissection and POEM (Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy) and facilitates third-space endoscopic surgeries. She said that, such technology is not yet available in tertiary care hospitals across the UT.
Dr. Mashkoor Ahmad Beigh (DM Gastroenterology), HOD General Medicine, GMC Anantnag, said that the department currently has two DM gastroenterologists serving the patients of south Kashmir, making the installation of this new facility even more significant.
“Due to the personal efforts of the Principal and Dean of GMC Anantnag, this workstation was finally installed on Thursday in the gastroenterology section of the General Medicine Department,” he said. “This project had been pending for a long time and the Principal ensured that it was installed without further delay.”
GMC Principal said that, given the high incidence of gastric and colonic cancers, the installation of the gastro endoscopic workstation will be a great relief for the population of south Kashmir, including the Pir Panjal region.
“These procedures will now be available to needy and poor people at their doorsteps. Procedures like ERCP, polypectomy of early cancers (as diagnostic and therapeutic procedures), and management of lower and upper gastrointestinal bleeding will be made possible with this state-of-the-art station,” she said.
GMC Principal further said that she is making all efforts to ensure the biomedical engineering wing is made functional at GMC Anantnag at the earliest.
A senior doctor said that with the availability of advanced, high-end machines and the addition of new equipment across various departments, GMC Anantnag is enhancing its healthcare capabilities. Machines like the CT scan, upcoming MRI and Cath Lab, laparoscopic instruments, endoscopy, colonoscopy, ERCP, and Fibroscan are now accessible. In the near future, the maintenance of such sophisticated equipment will necessitate the expertise of bioengineers.
Meanwhile, Dr. Showkat Hussain Tali, HOD Paediatrics and Media Cell Coordinator at GMC Anantnag, told Rising Kashmir that since Principal Prof. Rukhsana Najeeb joined GMC Anantnag, the college has made significant progress in all aspects of patient care, elevating its prominence both at the state and national levels.