Health department dodges Governor’s grievance Cell
Gives ‘misleading reply’ twice to public Complaint in Kupwara district
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Srinagar, July 25 (RNA): In what appears to be a ‘deliberate’ attempt to hide its failures, the Health Department has allegedly provided ‘wrong and misleading’ information to Governor’s grievance cell in response to a complaint regarding the shortage of staff in a Sub- district Hospital in Kupwara.
Qaziabad Development Forum had complained in the Governor’s Grievance Cell about the non -availability of staff in Sub District Hospital Kralgund which- according to them- is at the verge of closure due to non- availability of the staff. The Governor’s grievance cell forwarded the same complaint to the Health department for ‘examination and furnishing of report ’. However, the reply was not only shocking but misleading too. The Joint Director Planning of the Health department in his reply chose to mention PHC Kralpora instead, of SDH Kralgund regarding which the complaint was filed.
“In pursuant to the District Development Board decision 1999, Department vide Order No. 180 HME of 1999 dated 21/05/1999, the PHC Kralpora Kupwara has been upgraded as SDH, however the requisite staff were created during 2002 vide Govt. Order No. 845-HME of 2902 dated 26.6.2002. Due to technical problems the posts carrying pay scale Rs. 5000/= (Old) and above were kept in abeyance, thereafter the file was taken up with Cabinet/finance Department so many times for concurrence which has not been forwarded as yet. Now the department proposal has been again taken up with the Finance Department latest by date 06.12.2018 for accord of approval, which is awaited.” reads the reply of the JD Planning Health department.
Presuming that the health department might have mentioned the Kralpora PHC ‘mistakenly’ the Qaziaabd Development Forum wrote again to grievance cell informing them about the ‘error’ and repeated that the complaint was about SDH Kralgund were -according to them- the staff has not been provided ever since its up-gradation in 1999 by the then Government Vide Order No. HME of 1999 dated 21-05-1999. However, according to them, the posts of specialists were still lying vacant. The forum representatives told RNA, that the hospital was being deliberately left ‘ functionless’ due to political interference.
“Complaint relates to SDH kralgund not kralpora. We are hearing since last two decades the same reply from health department. Our demand to the Governor is to restore the withheld posts as the abeyance of posts has been done on political basis. We demand providing of specialists posts as sanctioned for SDH kralagund by personal intervention of Honb’le Governor” reads the feedback complaint by the Forum which was again forwarded to Health department for disposal.
“I am directed to request you to kindly go through the feedback given by the complainant and take immediate necessary action in the matter and resolve the grievance”, reads the communication from Grievance cell to Health department.
However, this time too the ‘error’ which development forum claims a ‘deliberate attempt’ was more ‘deceptive’ and ‘misleading’. The department provided the information of Sub-District Hospital Kupwara and Sub District Hospital Langate claiming that both hospitals had enough staff and were fully operational before the complaint was disposed off.
“There is district hospital at Kupwara which is fully functional with all the required facilities and also Langate has SDH with sufficient and man power and is effectively operational.” reads the reply of health department.
The Forum members told RNA that the nine specialist posts and a medical superintendent was sanctioned for the hospital in 2002 but later ‘ withheld’ due to – what they alleged- political interference.
“The Government had sanctioned Nine specialist posts here including ophthalmology, Physician, surgeon, orthopedic, gynecology, radiology. But then withheld all these posts due to political pressure.” Development forum members told RNA, adding that even a doctor posted here was shifted to Langate hospital recently after returning from Yatra duty. They alleged that BMO Langate wants to run the Block Headquarter of Langate ignoring the plight of the people of vast area of Kralgund.
They accused the health department officials in Kupwara district of deliberately ‘misleading’ the government and said ‘they were giving misleading information deliberately to the government.” They have appealed Governor for intervention. (RNA)