Despite the state getting award for best health sector, Valley’s Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science Medical College in Bemina, commonly known as JVC, is battling to provide basic facilities to the patients.Patients and attendants rue that the hospital is lacking basic facilities like toilets and hot water in washrooms.Patients admitted in the maternity ward of the hospital said that due to lack of beds, two or three patients are put in a single bed.The patients admitted in the ward said that the ward has poor washroom and toilets.A woman who is admitted in the hospital said that the washroom has no facilities for such patients and they always fear that their stitches may come off.“There are only two Indian style toilet points in the washroom but pregnant ladies and those who have undergone surgeries cannot use them. Post-operation, there is a risk of breaking the stitches,” said an attendant of the women.
She claimed that when her daughter-in-law tried to use the available toiled point, blood started oozing out of the stitches. “She too urinated in a standing position, it’s a shame upon the hospital authorities that they lack simple logic,” she said.Although the hospital has a working heating system, yet the washrooms in IPD wards have no geysers for hot water that causes grave inconvenience to patients in the biting cold. To arrange hot water for their patients, the attendants buy hot water bottles form a canteen, and each bottle costs them costs 10 rupees.Some patients claim that only doctors’ chambers have working water geysers while patients are denied such facility.For OPD patients, there is also no facility in the hospital. The authorities have constructed few washrooms near the hospital six months ago, but they are yet to be thrown open for patients.Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Ajaz Mustafa could not be reached for his comments. (KNS)