Haroon Nabi
The shifting of the Chest Disease hospital to erstwhile GB Pant hospital has not been taken well by the health experts.
The government has decided to create a separate Infectious Diseases hospital in view of the CoVID-19 pandemic and retain it in the present day Chest Disease hospital while shifting the latter to GB Pant in Sonwar locality of Srinagar.
The new place for the Chest Disease hospital would not only create inconvenience for the patients because of the massive traffic jams in the area but also restricts its scope for expansion given the lack of space there.
Health experts say the wards of the GB Pant hospital were designed for the children having less height while most of the patients of Chest Disease hospital are adults.
Also, the Chest Disease hospital needs adequate ventilation to avoid spread of the respiratory diseases like Tuberculosis, H1N1.
The most worrying fact is that Kashmir is again seeing a steep rise in the H1N1 cases. It is not the first time but for the past many years Kashmir is seeing fatal H1N1 cases which need proper healthcare facilities.
In absence of such facilities, Kashmir will keep losing lives to the H1N1 infections.
Policy makers need to take respiratory illnesses seriously as experts are warning of a pandemic of viral diseases. The facilities of the Chest Disease hospital need to be augmented.
In view of the cold weather and mountainous topography, Kashmir needs a state of the art Chest Disease hospital with Super Speciality facilities.
Experts say the windows of the erstwhile GB Pant hospital are small and don’t have enough ventilation to be considered optimal for the patients.
The pulmonary disease patients need adequate supply of oxygen which is also not available at the erstwhile GB Pant hospital having 500 Litre oxygen plant.
At Chest Disease hospital they have a 500 litre oxygen plant exclusive for the Intensive Care Unit.
Instead of spending funds on the GB Pant hospital building the LG administration should take steps to shift the Chest Disease hospital to Bemina where thousands of acres of government land are available with smooth access to people of all the districts.
Experts suggest it would be better to decongest the SMHS hospital by shifting the ENT or Ophthalmology departments to the GB Pant Sonwar.
The LG administration should consult respiratory disease experts and top health leaders to devise a plan for the shifting of the CD hospital.
