Srinagar, Dec 19 (KNO): A shocking video shared widely on social media, showing a sick patient being moved outside GMC Handwara on a trolley has raised serious questions about the emergency healthcare infrastructure of the hospital.
The video purportedly showing a patient being wheeled out of the hospital on a trolley by the attendants, allegedly after being denied an ambulance for emergency transfer.
Footage reveals that the incident occurred when a doctor at the hospital recommended an urgent CT Scan, a facility rendered unavailable on-site due to a malfunctioning machine.
When the patient’s family sought an ambulance to transport the patient to another facility for the crucial diagnostic test, authorities allegedly failed to provide the service.
Witnesses, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said the patient had to be moved manually after officials at GMC Handwara reported that the CT scan facility was unavailable. “It was a heartbreaking incident to witness.”
As the video circulated online, netizens criticized the condition of medical services at GMC Handwara.
Some netizens said that the hospital ‘resembles an animal husbandry center, not a medical facility for humans.’
The incident drew a sharp reaction from the Civil Society Forum Handwara (CSFH), which alleged that shortcomings in the hospital were ‘not accidental but a deliberate attempt to benefit surrounding private clinics.’
The forum appealed to the GMC Handwara administration to install CCTV cameras in every OPD to ensure accountability and prevent alleged malpractice.
Responding to the controversy, Medical Superintendent of GMC Handwara, Dr. Aijaz Ahmad, admitted that the hospital’s CT scan machine had developed a technical fault.
He, however, clarified that the attendants pushed the patient ‘in haste’ despite being stopped by hospital security personnel.
“The CT scan machine had a technical snag, but the attendants rushed without coordinating with hospital staff. Nobody requested for an ambulance,” Dr. Aijaz said.
He added that an engineering team had been called to address the malfunction, but the machine again developed a snag. “Hopefully, the CT scanner will be restored to order by tomorrow,” he said—(KNO)