Baramulla, Feb 27: Scores of patients and attendants on Monday held a protest demonstration against unavailability of doctors at the Mother and Child Care Hospital (MCH) in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The patients, mostly women, held a demonstration against the hospital authorities, alleging that not a single doctor was present to attend to them until 11:30 am.
The protest continued for several hours, causing traffic congestion on the road near the hospital until the police intervened and cleared the area.
A woman attendant, who accompanied her pregnant daughter, claimed that they waited for hours, but no doctor was available at the hospital.
“We reached the hospital at 8 in the morning, and till 11:30 am, there was not a single doctor at the hospital,” the lady told Rising Kashmir.
Another protesting lady highlighted the recurrent lack of doctors’ availability and the hospital authorities’ inaction to address the issue.
She claimed that there is only one gynaecologist at the hospital to attend to hundreds of female patients.
The protestors alleged that the doctors at MCH Sopore mostly practice at private clinics and also refer the patients from MCG to nearby private clinics.
“I can’t afford to attend to my patient at Srinagar hospital. We have this healthcare facility at Sopore but unavailability of doctors causes huge inconvenience to the patients here,” an elderly man told Rising Kashmir.
A healthcare official told Rising Kashmir that they had arranged for a doctor as the one scheduled to be present was on training.
“MCH is catering to dozens of villages from Sopore and adjoining areas. Even patients from Kupwara and Bandipora areas also visit MCH Sopore which is overburdening the hospital,” he said.
