SKIMS prides itself as the premier tertiary care hospital of the valley. In the entire valley, it is the only premier health institution where surgeries of extreme complex nature can be conducted. Patients from all over the Kashmir valley consider it a treatment of last resort and the last hope of so many terminally ill patients. The SKIMS in itself is able to perform almost all surgeries that AIIMS is able to perform. SKIMS enjoys a reputation of an apolitical hospital of quality where patients across the economic spectrum can receive treatment at minimum cost.
However, of late we have found numerous complaints against SKIMS administration primarily among which is forcing patients to conduct blood examinations and other tests from private laboratories. The things have come to such a pass and the executives of these labs so emboldened that they directly visit the patient bed in the hospital to collect blood and urine samples. It is strange to note that most of these tests are recommended by doctors who tell them the system is a little too slow here at SKIMS and test results may take time to arrive. There seems to be a clear nexus between doctors and owners of these private clinical laboratories. All this is happening in broad daylight with cameras monitoring this big fraud all hours of the day.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha who has taken a pledge to provide quality healthcare to all citizens of Jammu and Kashmir across all sections of the society and across the entire economic scale must inquire these malpractices. When a doctor recommends a test from outside lab in SKIMS the patient feels duty-bound to get these tests conducted at any cost. This puts a huge financial stress on the attendants of the patient who are already in a state of shock.
We expect LG administration to conduct an immediate inquiry in this regard. The video footage from the last two months can be very important proof here. After all, if a medical institute like SKIMS asks patients to get their blood samples examined through private clinics in the vicinity of hospitals then God save our healthcare.
This is a matter which needs urgent attention. Without delay, things must be brought back to normal procedure at the premier health institute of the valley.
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