Last Updated on May 9, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Jammu’s poor healthcare system is exposed as a surge in covid cases has been noticed. Patients from around 200 nearby villages rely on a sub-district hospital in Ranbir Singh Pura sector of Jammu district. The hospital has been quite inefficient in dealing with COVID related emergency situation because it lacks the requisite pieces of equipment.
Hospital has only rapid antigen tests (RAT) facility. If anyone is in a critical condition then he/she is referred to Jammu’s GMC or CD Hospital. A health worker said that this is a community health care facility and not a hospital. There is no service to provide oxygen or ventilator to patients. They don’t treat patients and just conduct rapid tests. Every staff member doesn’t even have PPE (personal protective equipment) kits and gloves.
It has been a year since first wave of COVID-19 hit the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, still sub-district hospital and primary health care centre in the border villages of Jammu don’t have sufficient infrastructure and equipment to contain the current pandemic crisis.
Government data notes that Jammu division has witnessed 20 times growth in active COVID cases since April 1. Number of patients who need ventilators has also been increased many times from 12 patients on April 15 to 89 on May 7.
Various hospitals in other districts of Jammu division are having problems in treating COVID-19 patients who need oxygen or ventilators. An activist from Rajouri district’s Sunderbani said that most ventilators which were delivered to government hospitals have not yet started functioning.
Government Medical College in Rajouri has nine vacant COVID ICU beds, according to government data. Five ventilators were sent to it last August but they have not started being used. Moreover, there is also a lack of rooms or personnel who are capable of operating the ventilators.
Rajouri district has over 2,000 active cases of covid patients which is the second-highest in Jammu district. Only five beds out of 138 beds are vacant in Jammu, according to sources.
The second wave of coronavirus has broken down healthcare system in the Jammu region of J&K. Sub-district and district hospitals lack RT-PCR testing facilities. Ventilators which were donated under PM CARES funds have still not started functioning yet.
