Srinagar, July 22: Prominent Gujjar leader and former Health and Medical education minister, Mian Altaf Ahmed has said that curtailing the autonomy of SKIMS Soura will adversely impact its functioning and patient care.
Reacting to the government’s decision to curtail the autonomy of SKIMS, Mian Altaf in a statement said the institute has over the years provided patient care much better than other facilities in the region and caters to the entire valley including Pir Panjal region of Jammu & Kashmir.
“Stripping what little autonomy this top-tier institution had will have an adverse impact on both its patient care and research,” he said and emphasized that the overall progress of SKIMS for the last 36 years shows that the model with autonomy to the governing body functions very well and leads to the success stories.
“By giving autonomy to the institute which is governed and managed by its doctors, the best decisions come out from such health institution. This governing body and autonomous model also help in inter-departmental coordination in any health institution,” the former minister said.
Over the decades, the institute emerged as one of the most prestigious medical centers in India and catered to the specialty and super specialty needs of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the dearth of staff to cater to expanding bed capacity has been one of the concerns, he said.
SKIMS Soura was established as an autonomous medical institute under the J&K State Legislature Act in 1983, on the same lines as AIIMS New Delhi. It was programmed to function independently and has its own governing body responsible for overseeing its administrative and academic affairs.
Mian Altaf said the move of stripping its autonomy will also affect its decision-making process and inter-departmental coordination. He urged the government to reconsider the decision so that the autonomy of the institute is restored in the larger interest of the people.
