Srinagar, Feb 04: The Jammu and Kashmir government has yet to determine the manpower requirements for the state-of-the-art additional block of Bone and Joint Hospital, Barzulla, raising concerns about the facility’s operational readiness ahead of its inauguration.
On Dec 25, Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah paid a surprise visit to the hospital and directed the executing agencies to ensure its swift operationalisation by January 2025 to enhance patient care and to dedicate the facility to public service.
However, even after January’s deadline, the building is still undergoing final touches, and the government is yet to finalize the staff for the new block before its opening.
An official close to the development stated that the civil works for the new block, constructed under the Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) with World Bank funding, have been completed. Previously identified deficiencies raised by the World Bank team have also been addressed.
“We were told that it would be handed over in the last week of January but I think final works are taking time and that is why it was not completed in January,” he said.
The official stated that while the manpower requirements for the new block have been projected, recruitment has yet to take place, as the government has raised financial concerns.
Earlier, the hospital suggested required manpower requirements, however, they were asked to seek the minimum possible manpower as per National Medical Commission guidelines.
“Now, we have proposed some 250 gazetted and non-gazetted posts and we are still waiting for it as the government is yet to take any final decision on it,” he said.
The official said manpower should be recruited before the inauguration of the building so that the new facility can serve its purpose as it is bearing a huge load of patients daily being the valley’s largest Orthopaedic healthcare facility.
To make the hand and take-over process easy and smooth, the Bone and Joint Hospital authorities have formulated a team to take over the additional block.
The new block is critical for addressing the space crunch caused by a fire incident in 2022 that reduced the hospital’s original capacity of 200 beds.
Designed with earthquake-resilient technology, the under-construction block will add 160 beds, increasing the hospital’s total capacity from 150 to 310 beds.
Officials at the hospital said that the new hospital building is designed as a G+ structure, incorporating modern machinery in its construction. The construction was started way back in 2019 and it has missed multiple deadlines.
The existing hospital building was also damaged in 2014 floods which later prompted the need for the construction of an additional block which was approved in 2015.
