Srinagar, Mar 17: The Health and Medical Education Department has informed the Jammu and Kashmir Govt. about the sanctioned faculty strength, bed shortage and infrastructure challenges however it has not informed about the vacancies that have piled up over the years.
The information was provided by the H&ME in the Legislative Assembly in response to a starred question raised by MLA Baramulla Javid Hassan Baig on the faculty strength at the medical college.
In response to the question on the existing faculty strength of the Department of Radiology in GMC Baramulla the department said there is 01 Professor, 01 Associate Professor, 01 Assistant Professor and 05 Senior Residents.
In response to another on what is the prescribed faculty strength as per NMC norms/guidelines for a medical college with 100 MBBS seats the government said sanctioned faculty strength as per the NMC guidelines is 256 which includes 33 professors, 23 associate professors, 49 assistant professors, one lecturer, one child psychologist, two lady medical officers, 12 CMOs, 78 senior residents and 58 junior residents.
On a query on total bed strength, the government informed that the associated hospital of the medical college as per NMC norms is 500 beds but currently, it has 300 beds.
The house was informed that the GMC requires 350 beds and 14 units in departments like general surgery, general medicine, paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) and orthopaedics. Currently, the aforementioned departments have a total of 183 beds.
In another question on how many sick patients have been referred from GMC Baramulla on “AMBU BAG” to higher medical centers in Srinagar for ventilator support in 2024 the reply was 211 patients.
In response to a question regarding the availability of ICU and CCU beds at GMC Baramulla and the status of the duty roster, the house was informed that GMC Baramulla has 26 ICU beds. However, the duty roster has not yet been made functional.
Regarding another query on manpower and infrastructure availability for CSSD, in-house facilities, and hospital waste management, the government stated that GMC Baramulla has four technical assistant cum technicians and one theatre boy. The available CSSD infrastructure includes two Square Type Automatic Autoclaves and one Horizontal Autoclave.
The house was further informed that the in-house facilities in Associated Hospital GMC Baramulla include 24/7 emergency care, laboratory services, pharmacies, diagnostic services such as ultrasound, X-ray, and CT scans, surgical facilities like operation theaters and surgical teams for performing operations, in-house maternity services for childbirth and related care, physical therapy/rehabilitation, dietary service, blood center unit
The Casualty & Emergency Pharmacy operates 24/7, with at least two Technical Assistants cum Technician cum Pharmacists available daily to manage emergency pharmacy services and ensure timely medication delivery.
The Gynae & Obstetrics (Obs.) Pharmacy operates 24/7, with at least two pharmacists available to handle medications for gynecology and obstetrics-related cases.
The Medical/Surgical/ENT/Ophthalmology/Orthopedics Pharmacy operates 24/7, with at least 2-3 pharmacists available daily to support medication needs for these departments.
The OPD Dispensary operates with at least 2 pharmacists per day to dispense medications to outpatients based on prescriptions, while the Hospital Waste Management Facility is outsourced to M/S Clean City Waste Management Company, Lasjen Srinagar, Kashmir.