Lack of Cardiology unit hitting patients hard at GMC Anantnag

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag 17 Nov: Lack of cardiology unit is deeply hitting the patient care at  GMC hospital Anantnag.Even as officials accuse the government for failing to set up the unit in the major health care institution in south Kashmir’s Anantnag District.

According to official sources, the GMC Anantnag has only one cardiologist who sees hundreds of patients on daily basis, pertinently GMC Anantnag caters to the whole of south Kashmir, including the Banihal and Kashtiwar , with an average load of hundreds of patients in its OPD every day.

Talking to Arising state an attendant, name withheld said that there is only one cardiologist who sees hundreds of patients every day.  He said that his grandmother had surgery today, doctors advised him in the surgical section to consult a cardiologist because of the high blood pressure of the patient.”However, when I went to the OPD section, doctors asked me to come after two days as there was only one cardiologist available in the hospital.”

He added that the inadequate number of cardiologists is severely affecting the patient care at GMC Anantnag. ”We are facing immense hardships due to a dearth of cardiologists, we are compelled to visit private hospitals, explained the attendant.

While as, official sources agreed that the GMC Anantnag lacks the basic infrastructure of the cardiology unit and patients have to visit private hospitals for tests like ECO and other tests of cardiology.

However, Principal GMC Anantnag Showkat Jeelani said,” we are having a space crunch at  GMC hospital Anantnag, otherwise we would have a set up a separate cardiology unit at the hospital. We already have funds for setting up the cardiology unit at  GMC, but due to the space crunch, we are not able to use the funds. He further said that he has already informed higher officials about the setting up of the cardiology unit at the hospital. Hopefully, the grievance will soon be resolved.”

Jeelani said that after the setting up of a separate cardiology unit at the hospital we will have more cardiologists at the hospital, he said.

Meanwhile Arising state tried to contact the financial commissioner, Health department Kashmir Atal Dullo, but he didn’t pick up the call.