Chest Disease Hospital located in Srinagar – which is the only tertiary pulmonary centre of the Valley and has referrals from all districts falls short of machinery and other equipment.
The data reveals that there is a shortage of vital machinery and equipment and despite sending repeated requestions reminding the Principal Dean Government Medical College Srinagar of the importance of these equipments, no machinery has been provided to the hospital.
CD Hospital as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust is a designated centre for Covid and also a centre for the admission of H1N1 patients. The hospital also requires at least 15 units of mobile portable instant isolation units to check cross infections.
The current Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) lab of CD Hospital is equipped with instruments that assess only basic lung function parameters (spirometry). The Hospital requires advanced PFT for the proper assessment and evaluation of patients. The Hospital had repeatedly requested the Government Medical College to procure advanced PFT equipment as It will help doctors in improvement in diagnosis for better patient care. However, no advanced PFT equipment has been dispatched to CD Hospital so far.
CD Hospital is also short of Impulse Oscillometry (IOS), Cardio Pulmonary Exercise Testing System (CPET), Diffusion Lung Capacity for Carbon Monoxide with Body Plethysmography (DLCO), (Fractional exhalation of Nitric Oxide) and Portable Ventilators (FENO).
The hospital has provided this information in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by a senior journalist and social activist MM Shuja. [KNT]