Srinagar,18-Feb; The shortage of emergency medicines has made SMHS hospital ill-equipped to save patients’ lives. Hundreds of patients, including those from the under privileged section, are forced to purchase drugs from the market.Expressing resentment against the authorities, the aggrieved attendants said that there was severe shortage of medicine and patients were often forced to purchase medicines from the market which sometimes were not even available there.”The shortage of some basic drugs jeopardize patient care, it also encourages the drug mafia in the hospitals, these are the reasons why private hospitals are being prioritized in the valley despite being costlier” said a patient.The failure of government in providing primary medicines to the patients in emergency ward is a sheer violation of ‘Right to Health’ which is entitled to every human under constitution. A female patient, having acute pain in her abdomen, was taken to SMHS hospital on Feb 17 during early hours. Doctor after examining her prescribed the Pain killer injection to be administered to her in emergency but the attendants were shocked when medical staff in the emergency room refused to provide basic medicine and asked them to purchase from medical shop outside the hospital.”The shortage of medicine is posing severe threat to the patients here. We have to rush to the market to purchase these important medicines,” said an attendant.When contacted, the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Dr kanwaljeet Singh, refused that there is shortage of certain drugs in the hospital.“We are having full stock of essential medicines in the hospital, but as per policy we only provide injectable medicines to the patients in OPD and emergency.However, most of the admitted patients are receiving free medicines under Ayushman Bharat Card,” he explained.(CNS)
