Patients being treated in unhygienic conditions at Govt Medical College

The state may have got award for the best health services in Jammu and Kashmir, but the patients are still being forced to get treated in extremely unhygienic conditions at Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu — the busiest hospital of the state.

The biggest hospital of the Jammu region having almost all the facilities and well-qualified doctors, which caters to hundreds of patients on daily basis, has failed to provide hygienic conditions to them on its premises.

The canteen on the ground floor at the back of the old emergency ward is in the most unhygienic condition and the patients coming from far-flung areas have no other option but to eat their meals in the same canteen only. A huge area having stagnant water near the canteen not only stinks, but also spreading diseases.

The corridors and wards of GMC are stinking and there is nothing in the name of cleanliness in the hospital.

“The hospital stinks like anything. Though there are sweepers in the hospital, but we hardly find any cleanliness in the wards and corridors of the hospital. It appears the sweepers have been recruited for cleaning the doctors’ clinics only,” said Ajay Kumar, an attendant from Ram Nagar.

“It is difficult to breathe inside the hospital. How does this hospital treat a patient in this environment, where a healthy person can get infected due to the unhygienic atmosphere,” he added.

Due to the unhygienic conditions in the hospital, many people prefer to shift their patients to hospitals in the neighbouring states, where they get better treatment in a hygienic atmosphere.

“My uncle had a cardiac problem and the doctor suggested him an open-heart surgery. An experienced doctor, who is also a good friend of my uncle, suggested him that if he can afford, he should go to Fortis or Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, saying that they can do the surgery here, but the unhygienic condition in the hospital and the carelessness of the paramedical staff may harm the patient,” said Mohammad Arshad, a medical student.

“My uncle could afford it, but it is not possible for everyone to go to a private hospital. It is the duty of the state government and Health Department to provide quality health services to all sections of society,” he added.

Interestingly, Jammu and Kashmir had been conferred with the “State of the States” (SoS) Award in the health sector by the India Today Group in August this year, which was received by Minister for Health and Medical Education Choudhary Lal Singh in New Delhi.

Officials of the hospital claim that they were doing their best and making more efforts to make the hospital cleaner.

The Medical Superintendent, Dr Ravinder Rattan Paul, could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.