Top leaders of the Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), including its patron Dr. Farooq Abdullah, on Friday met Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha in Srinagar and pressed for retaining the autonomy of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), besides highlighting the growing shortage of staff there.
“We flagged the issues of healthcare in our meeting with the L-G and pointed out the attempts being made to tamper with the autonomy of the SKIMS, which is J&K’s premier health institute. We also highlighted how patient care is getting impacted due to the lack of staff at the hospital,” Gupkar Alliance spokesman M.Y. Tarigami said.
The delegation, headed by Dr. Abdullah, was joined by the CPI(M)‘s Tarigami and Peoples Democratic Party leader Dr. Mehboob Beg. It submitted a memorandum to the L-G.
“The recent decision of the government to divest SKIMS of its autonomous status has had an adverse effect on its decision-making process. Presently, the institution is facing a staffing deficit with hundreds of slots at various levels viz., medical, paramedic, and administrative lying vacant. There is a 50% shortage of all technical and nursing staff. The recruitment has not been conducted for the last seven years,” the memorandum reads.
The SKIMS was set up by former J&K Chief Minister Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1976. It is billed to be among the top-tier health institutes in the country. According to the memorandum, a total number of 1,201 posts of different categories, including 115 faculty positions, 149 gazetted posts, 870 non-gazetted and 67 positions of senior and junior residents, are vacant.
“The shortage of manpower has not only placed additional strain on the existing staff in the SKIMS and other hospitals, but also raises concerns over the quality of care being provided to the patients,” it said.
The memorandum also pointed out vacant posts in the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, Srinagar, and the Children’s Hospital, Bemina.
