Suhail Dar
A day after a social media storm over the disappearance of electricity at the Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, a group of locals registered their protest against the hospital admin by distributing candles among the attendants of patients at the hospital.
A group of locals led by an Anantnag town resident, Shah Ishrat Hussain on Saturday along with many local residents on Saturday gathered in the premises of the hospital.
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On Friday, a video from the hospital had gone viral on social media which showed the doctors examining a patient with flashlights after electricity had gone missing from the hospital for more than an hour, however, the electricity was fixed within an hour.
The video was also tweeted by the spokesperson of the Jammu Kashmir National Conference. Castigating the LG-Manoj Sinha led administration, Sarah Hayat Shah wrote, “SHOCKING! Haven’t seen anything like this ever before. Medical procedure being performed under Flashlights at GMC Anantnag. No electricity! NAYA KASHMIR????”
SHOCKING! Haven’t seen anything like this ever before. Medical procedure being performed under Flashlights at GMC Anantnag. No electricity!
NAYA KASHMIR???? pic.twitter.com/r2HkN1q4Tj— Sarah Hayat Shah (@SaraHayatShah) December 17, 2022
Several twitter users expressed their dismay over the “pathetic” condition at the GMC Anantnag, while as many others
Hospital administration said that there was an electricity breakdown, but it was fixed immediately. “The main electricity cable of the hospital developed a technical snag around 6 PM, but the line was fixed within an hour,” Syed Tariq Qureshi, principal of the Government Medical College Anantnag said.
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Pertinently the GMC of Anantnag caters to four south Kashmir districts and at times over to the districts of Ramban, however, several videos and reports from the hospital, especially during the last few years, have showed heightened cases of medical negligence.
On January 28, a Kulgam woman’s kin alleged that she died due to medical negligence at GMC Anantnag and staged a massive protest demanding action against the accused doctors, however, GMC Principal refuted the allegations.
On 06 December 2021, the family members of a Kishtwar man alleged that their patient died of medical negligence at GMC Anantnag. The medical superintendent of the hospital assured action against the accused, if found guilty. However, the report of the investigation, if any launched, was never made public.
On 27 August 2021, family members of Saba Bano wife of Shahzad Ahmad Shah, who was a resident of Churath Kulgam said that their patient died due to the negligence of doctors at Government Medical College Anantnag, the officials of GMC, however, refuted the allegations of medical negligence.
on 18 May 2021, the family members of another patient from Anantnag town alleged that they were mistreated at GMC Anantnag and their patient died of negligence and mismanagement at the hospital.
The scenario at the Maternity hospital of Anantnag which also serves several districts of the Kashmir valley is even worse, as per the patients.. Several cases of medical negligence have been reported from here and in-hospital investigations have been conducted in almost every case, however, the cases of medical negligence have not stopped.
Shah Ishrat Hussain, who distributed candles among the patients at the hospital, to protest the electricity blackout said, “The hospital has one of the highest patient inflow in the valley. We expect the best of services to be provided here, but unfortunately that is not the case.
The DM of Anantnag made a surprise visit to the hospital after a photo from the hospital that showed a mother carrying a child in her lap he was being injected with NH drip, went viral on social media.
Making a reference to a photograph, Shah Ishrat Hussain said, “I enquired and was told by many eyewitnesses that the woman was from Ramban and she had to stand due to the lack of beds at the hospital. It is unfortunate that so many people have to suffer due to medical negligence, when it can be easily avoided.”
He said that the administration should immediately intervene into the hospital matters and fix things at the earliest.