The facility now has 1250 beds total, including a 129-bed maternity hospital, which is a major expansion.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah, a member of parliament for the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, M. Y. Tarigami, and Dr. Mehboob Beg have called attention to the “dire situation” at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar as well as other prestigious hospitals in the area in a memorandum sent to the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the memorandum, SKIMS was founded in 1976 and officially opened on December 5, 1982, with a capacity of 250 beds. Over the course of four decades, it has developed into a top healthcare facility that offers vital medical services to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
The facility now has 1250 beds total, including a 129-bed maternity hospital, which is a major increase in bed capacity.
It is ranked second only to PGI Chandigarh in the Northern area of India as one of the best medical institutions in the nation.
Along with offering a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate courses as well as organizing regional, national, and worldwide conferences, SKIMS has distinguished itself not just in patient treatment but also in research and teaching.
“Despite its successes, the recent choice to strip SKIMS of its autonomy has had a negative impact on its decision-making process. The serious personnel shortage, which is evident in the large number of open administrative, paramedic, and medical posts, is of the utmost importance. There is a 50% deficit of technical and nursing workers as a result of the recruitment process’s seven-year stagnation. According to the message, there are currently 1201 open opportunities, including 115 academic positions, 149 gazette roles, 870 non-gazette positions, and 67 senior and junior resident positions.
In addition to staffing issues, SKIMS encounters difficulties because of insufficient finance and infrastructure. Patients are unable to receive the correct care because basic medical equipment, such CT scan and MRI machines, is either broken or insufficient.
In particular, the lack of a linear accelerator, a vital tool for giving radiation to cancer patients, is a major worry.
Furthermore, the institute’s efforts to enhance robotic surgery have been limited by funding limitations. There isn’t much room for improvement because salaries account for about 70% of the annual budget.
The email emphasizes that in addition to SKIMS, other top institutions in the area, like SMHS in Srinagar and Children’s Hospital in Bemina, are dealing with a similar problem with open posts and insufficient infrastructure. In 2022, a fire damaged the top floor of the Bone and Joint Hospital in Barzulla, the only facility of its kind in Kashmir. Even though a 120-bed World Bank-funded block is still being built, delays have made it more difficult to finish, which has an impact on patient care.
Additionally, district-level hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir deal with similar issues, with cancer patients being forced to travel farther for treatment, resulting in higher expenditures and inconveniences. The overall lack of labour places additional pressure on the current workforce, raising questions about the standard of patient care.
In light of these critical issues, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Dr Mehboob Beg and M.Y. Tarigami urged the Lt. Governor to address the staffing and infrastructural deficits on a fast track basis, ensuring the seamless functioning of SKIMS and other premier hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir. They claimed that the prompt and successful settlement of these urgent issues is essential to the region’s population’s overall well-being.
