There is no second opinion or an after thought to mark even speck of a change in the view that most of the people in J&K face higher risk of diseases and maladies. The conditions of hospitals, including those of tertiary and sub-district hospitals, put an additional trauma that people often tend to ignore with the deepest resentment that a particular episode of hospital visit is only temporary and that feelings are not meant to linger for long. Most of the hospitals in the city and towns in Kashmir are suffering from a load of administration and management problems. The first experience inside these hospitals is ‘suffocation’. After a temporary visit of 20 minutes in any hospital, usually in Out-patient’s Department, when anyone comes out it is a refreshing and healthy experience, outside and not inside the hospital. Poor air ventilation in the hospitals is a common disease. So bad is the experience that people have been reported as making best excuses as not to visit the admitted relatives or friends to avoid feeling sick themselves at hospitals. In winters, with heaters and air-conditioners running most of the time, the problem becomes even more severe. Those who are ignorant about the health hazard think the hospital environment as cozy and warm. But it is far from reality. Most of the hospitals are constructed in such manner that patients cannot escape these stale wards and corridors. It is worse for the patients who suffer from respiratory problems. Provided there are proper and in-depth studies, we may even find that attendants and people not suffering from anything would need oxygen and ventilator at the hospitals. It is not only hospital administrations that are at fault and the responsible party for all miseries. At public hospitals in and around city Srinagar, less number of patients actually visit the hospitals compared to the attendants. One patient is swarmed many a times by more than six attendants. The crowd control mechanism or measures, despite hospital administrations trying their best, appear to be failing in most cases. The problem is social only. People largely believe that they should accompany the sick, as part of moral and social obligation. But given the limited facilities and poor infrastructure they only end up putting the ill at a higher risk. Shortage of staff and availability of few doctors are unable to tackle it. As different people visit hospitals everyday, the exercise of flushing out the unwanted crowd becomes a challenge. Doctors become used to situations and their efforts eventually wane. Other than inside the hospitals, the exercise in the form of public awareness campaigns are hardly ever held. Overall there is a wrong idea about hospitals among people in general. Hospitals are not for treatment with medicines and medical equipments only. They are meant to be wellness centers. The environment has to be healthy. Government may add hospitals or increase extra-bed capacity, but unless some work is done to make hospitals as real health centers, the expectations won’t be fully met.
