PHC Sagam Kokernag has no doctors to handle, Hospital operates on God’s Mercy

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag: A Primary Health Center (PHC) in Sagam Kokernag, which is an associated hospital to GMC Anantnag is facing shortage of staff, resulting in several problems, pertaining to patient care in the area.

As per sources, the PHC operates without doctors, and still the health department has not posted any MBBS doctor in the said PHC, except a dental surgeon.

Talking to Arising State, locals said that they have to move to either Sub hospital Kokernag or GMC Anantnag for even minor ailments which otherwise should have been made available at this hospital.

They further said that there is no such facility available at the hospital, while the machineries including X-ray and USG, worth lakhs, installed in the PHC hospital stand defunct, in absence of technicians.

“We have brought the issue into the notice of the concerned authorities several times but nothing has been done so far,” locals added.

However, Official sources said that the staff posted in the PHC sagam is one dental surgeon, one health inspector, one MSW, two technical Assistants, one FMPHW, one driver, one lab technician, five Nursing orderly, one orderly (Class IV) and three sweepers.

Residents of the adjoining villages talking to Arising State said that, “we are being forced to visit the Private Diagonastic Labs in Anantnag due to the defunct USG and X-Ray machine.”

They said that patients of more than a dozen villages are bearing the brunt of these defunct machineries at Primary Health Centre Sagam in Kokernag area, adding that the health facility caters to hundreds of patients of more than a dozen villages who have been hit by the absence of doctors and non functional  USG & X-Ray machine.

Meanwhile, Talking to Arising State, officials said that there is a dearth of staff and the GMC Anantnag admin has already conveyed message to higher ups regarding the said issue, “and hopefully the doctors will be posted at the PHC Sagam very soon” (Arising State).