Ganderbal, Apr 28 (KNO): The defunct anaesthesia machine at District Hospital (DH) Ganderbal has come under severe criticism with the patients, alleging it to be a reason for immense hardships.
Locals from Ganderbal informed the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that several scheduled surgeries had to be postponed, leaving patients and their families distressed.
They said that the non-functional machine has particularly impacted emergency surgical cases, causing serious inconvenience to those in urgent need of operations.
Bilal Ahmad, a local resident, said that around 500 scheduled surgeries have got delayed due to the defunct anaesthesia machine.
He said that patients are being referred to SMHS and SKIMS Soura where they are being asked to avail such services at DH Ganderbal.
Sameer Ahmad, another local said that if it is taking weeks to repair or replace an anaesthesia machine then what will be the condition at other hospitals. He said that there should be backups available for the districts so that the patients won't have to suffer.
Locals said that they have brought this issue into the notice of concerned authorities several times but to no avail. They said that despite being CM's constituency, people of Ganderbal are suffering for want of anaesthesia machine.
They have sought the attention of CM Omar Abdullah in this regard.
When contacted, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Ganderbal Dr Bashir Ahmad acknowledged the issue and assured that the anaesthesia machine would be rectified in the coming days.
“We have taken up the matter on priority. Necessary steps are being taken, and the machine is expected to be fully functional within a few days,” he said—(KNO)