Srinagar, Jun 24: In Tangdar, at the Line of Control in Kupwara district, a child suddenly developed high fever and breathing difficulties on a cold night of February this year. The medical officer at the local health center lived nearby and told them he needs to be checked by a pediatrician.
Desperate to save their child’s life, the family traveled to Kralpora, the nearest Community Health Centre (CHC), hoping for specialized care. However, Kralpora also had no pediatrician, and the staff could only provide basic treatment before advising referral to Kupwara’s District Hospital. From Tangdhar to Kupwara, the family travelled over two hours to reach the Sub-District Hospital Kupwara. The lone pediatric specialist there could not be present round the clock. So they had two options, either to wait till morning, or to travel another three hours to reach Children Hospital in Srinagar.
A GMC and a district Hospital (Handwara) fall on the way, but mostly are under-trusted due to unpredictability of the available resources, the family said. “After waiting and travelling so long, the best is to rush to Srinagar rather than waste time in hospitals in villages.” Such is the state of healthcare in rural Kashmir: grossly understaffed, criminally neglected.
The Health Dynamics of India report (2022-23) was released in September 2024 by Union Health Ministry. According to this report, J&K’s Community Health Centers have a specialist shortage to the tune of 44 percent. Of the 208 sanctioned posts, 92 are vacant. These are not numbers, but life saving doctors who could help manage an emergency for an expecting mother, a stroke in an elderly patient, a Road Traffic Accident in a far flung area or an emergency like that of Ayaan.
The Health Dynamic report highlighted various aspects of healthcare delivery, infrastructure and human resource availability in sub-centers, Primary Health Centers and Community Health Centers of states and Union territories of India under National Health Mission. In J&K, the dire shortage of specialists is the most striking finding, exposing the cracks in the system that need to be addressed on a fast track basis.
Instead of the shortage getting addressed, it is worsening. The specialist number in CHCs was 127 in March 2022, and the number fell to 116 in March 2023, the cap date for the data of the compilation. The total number of sanctioned positions of specialists in J&K CHCs is 220, of which 104 are yet to be filled. Many positions have fallen vacant following retirement of the medical personnel. There are 52 CHCs in J&K, providing cover to 890 PHCs.
Sakeena Itoo, Minister of Health and Medical Education, recently acknowledged the shortage of consultants in far flung areas. Vacancies are there and have not been filled. We are examining the reasons,” she said. She said that the Government has taken measures to address the situation. “We recently relieved all doctors from GMCs who were supposed to work in rural hospitals,” she said, adding that the matter was “under active consideration”. However, beyond these assurances, masses living in the villages and towns of J&K wish to see a healthcare sector that allows equitable access to services, irrespective of the location and proximity to the capitals.
