It is quite intriguing that on one side the people sitting at the helm of affairs never get tired of boasting about bringing revolution in the healthcare sector in Jammu but on the other, the dearth of basic facilities in these healthcare facilities have been contradicting the tall claims as people continue to suffer as they used to be in previous decades.
It won't be an exaggeration if one says that J&K's healthcare edifice is still reeling under Stone Age as many sophisticated equipments installed in the government hospitals are non-functional forcing the patients to face hardships as those running the affairs are least bothered to revamp the medical instruments lying defunct for days together.
Reportedly, the CT scan machines at Chest Diseases (CD) Hospital Jammu as well as Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital have been out of order for last 15-20 days giving a nightmarish experience to the patients and their attendants as they have to visit other hospitals or private facilities to carry out specific tests.
In today's modern world, where medical science has become so advanced that doctors rely on sophisticated tests to continue with the treatment, the phlegmatic attitude of the concerned authorities in the aforesaid matter is nothing but a cruel joke with those who visit these healthcare facilities with great hope and lot of expectations.
All said and done, the aforesaid pathetic situation is pointing towards the fact that healthcare in Jammu is on the mercy of the God as those responsible for the same are surely having some other interests or else it was not possible that such important medical aid equipments were lying defunct for days together and the lame excuse given by the helmsmen as an alibi is that these machines' warranty period has been expired. What this condition is hinting is that the healthcare system in J&K is in the hands of a few business entities that can jeopardize the entire system by delaying the process of repairing the necessary medical equipment. This fact is enough to understand that why private ambulances queue up outside the government hospitals to ferry the patients to hospitals outside the UT in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana or Delhi.
It is important that a thorough probe should be carried out in the matter as there is a possibility of connivance between some of the black sheep in the Health department and private entities in Jammu or outside the UT, because repairing the CT Scan machine doesn't require any kind of rocket science or space station maintenance capabilities. In case, the warranty has been expired the concerned quarters can pay the amount for the repairs or immediately renew the Annual Maintenance Contract, to carry out needful repairs and restart the facility of CT scan at the aforesaid hospitals.
The need of the time is to probe the matter and find out whether there is any kind of corruption going on, leading to sufferings to the poor patients.
