The National Secular Forum (NSF) protest against the Health as well as Medical Education ministers for their failure in suitable action against private Nursing Homes is operating in the region without registration and hike fee Rs 300 to evening OPD in GMC.Addressing the gathering, President NSF Sukhdev Singh has demanded from the Chief-Minister to order Vigilance probe into the "Irregularities, bad services, corruption, nepotism, other bungling in health sector and rollback the decision of hike fee Rs 300 to evening OPD in GMC.
NSF president Singh said due to the casual attitude of Health as well as Medical Education ministers the poor people were suffering on the account of health problems. “The start of Evening Shift for private practice of Government Medical College (GMC) doctors is a live example of Government’s apathetic attitude,” he said.He added that the decision of the authorities to start evening OPDs was a sheer exploitation of common masses that will now have to pay more without getting any additional facility in return.
He also said, “The private Nursing Homes are operating in the region without registration. They don’t have the requisite infrastructure. They are been allowed to suck the blood of poor masses who are helpless as the Government run institutions are not providing them the necessary facilities.” “The registration process of 37 nursing homes is pending in the Directorate of Health Services for the last two year. The process is deliberately not being completed because the nursing homes don’t fulfill the prescribed conditions. The Department is minting money from the nursing homes and encouraging corruption.Singh said nursing homes were without the prescribed facilities but still operating under the nose of authorities without infrastructure. Also they were charging heavily from the poor patients.He further said that In Kashmir pision alone, Department of Health has conducted similar raids on nearly 200 of similar private hospitals, nursing homes and testing and imaging laboratories in the last one and half years. While 20 of such units were closed down ruthlessly and not allowed to reopen for business, all others resumed operation within days and weeks, sometime within hours.
Singh demanded from the Chief Minister to order inquiry into the functioning of the private nursing. The nursing homes operating illegally are closed immediately If Government fails to check their menace,rollback the decision of hike fee Rs 300 to evening OPD in GMC and the NSF will launch crusade across the region. Among those who were present in the protest included, Barket Ali, Qayoom Malik, Azaj Shah, Vikram Madhyal, Narinder Singh, PP Singh, Rishikesh Rana, Pushpinder Singh, Vicky Thakur, Ankit Sharma, and others.