Anantnag, Dec 04 (KNO): The Outpatient Department (OPD) ticket counters at GMC Anantnag’s MMABM Associated Hospital are witnessing a persistent morning rush, causing inconvenience to hundreds of patients who queue up from early hours to secure a registration slip.
Locals and patients have urged the administration to establish additional counters and streamline the registration process to reduce waiting time.
Patients from Anantnag and neighbouring districts, who spoke to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said the rush at the OPD counters has increased substantially in recent months.
“I reached here at 8:30 am, but the queue was already very long. It took me almost an hour to get a ticket,” said Abdul Rashid, a patient from Bijbehara. “The hospital is catering to patients from multiple districts now. They must increase the number of counters.”
Another attendee, Shabnam Akhtar from Kulgam, said the elderly and women suffer the most in the overcrowded lines. “There are separate counters, but the rush is so huge in the morning that people get tired even before seeing the doctor. Extra counters in the early hours would really help,” she said.
Some attendants also suggested extending the counter timings or deploying temporary staff during peak hours.
Despite the rush, people acknowledged that the hospital has seen improvement in patient care and diagnostic facilities ever since the former District Hospital was upgraded.
“Diagnosis and other facilities have improved, no doubt. But the administration must match the growing patient inflow with infrastructure and manpower,” said Nazir Ahmad, a shopkeeper from Anantnag town.
Meanwhile, an official of GMC Anantnag said that the morning crowd is normal and inevitable due to the massive inflow of patients from across the region
An official from GMC Anantnag said the morning rush is normal due to the large inflow of patients from across Kashmir, Pir Panjal, and parts of Jammu division. “When emergency counters close overnight, OPD counters open early, leading to large queues. Preventing this entirely isn’t possible,” he said.
He added that as the day progresses, queues thin out, and there are currently four computerised counters (separate for men and women), along with a paediatric counter open round-the-clock. Online registration and Scan & Share counters have also been introduced to manage the rush effectively.
The official further stated that early morning congestion is common in all associated hospitals nationwide, and the hospital administration has already increased counters and introduced digital solutions to ease patient hardships. He assured that more measures would be taken in the near future to improve patient experience—(KNO)