Srinagar, Oct 06: With only two anesthetists available, the District Hospital Handwara is forced to shut down its Operation Theater (OT) after 04:00 pm every day, leaving patients with emergencies to move to other districts.
DH Handwara is a 230-bedded hospital catering hundreds of villages of border district Kupwara that comprises more than 9 lakh population.
The residents of Mawar, Vilgam, Rajwar, Langate, Taratpora, Tangdar, Qaziabad and adjoining area told Rising Kashmir that they have no option left except to move patients to nearby districts in night hours.
The hospital commissioned 230-beds initially however after J&K Government accorded medical College to the frontier district the capacity of the DH Handwara was augmented to 270 which itself speaks its vitality in the district to deal with the situation.
“During day time the OT of the DH Handwara functions smoothly but after 04:00 pm the hospital administration shuts its doors that results in manifold hardships for those who visit the health center in night hours for surgical purposes”, locals of Handwara told Rising Kashmir.
Expressing annoyance over non-functioning of the OT 24×7, the local residents said the closure of facility in the hospital force patients to move to nearby districts or private hospitals which takes a heavy toll on their lives.
“The health center was established by the Government for the benefit of the local population. When OT is being closed every day after 04:00 pm then what is the fun of constructing such a big hospital in this border district “, the aggrieved locals expressed.
“Besides hospital administration, the matter was taken up with higher officials several times during their visit but of no avail”, they said and requested higher authorities to intervene into the matter and recruit the required number of Anesthetists for 24×7 functioning of the OT.
Medical Superintendent, DH Handwara, Dr. Nisar Ahmad told Rising Kashmir that the hospital has only two Anesthetists available at this point of time who run the OT in day time. “We need at least 4 Anesthetists if we want to make OT operational 24×7”, he said.
“Besides, there is a need for adequate space for post-operative care unit. We have 12-beds available for post-operative care but we need 50-beds to make OT functional day and night”, he added.
He said the Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department and Deputy Commissioner concerned recently visited the health centre and took a comprehensive review of overall functioning of the hospital. He also said the higher officials during their visit ordered immediate recruitment of manpower for making GMC Handwara functional.
“The authorities have ordered fast track recruitment for GMC Handwara. We are hopeful by the end of December 2022 the manpower would be available and accordingly the OT will start functioning day and night”, the Medical Superintendent, DH Handwara said.
“Either by the end of 2022 or with the onset of 2023, the functioning of OT would be ensured day and night”, the MS assured
