Srinagar: The closure of Out Patient Department (OPD) services in Government Medical College and associated hospitals here in Srinagar city has added to the worries of those ailing from diseases other than Covid-19.
“Closure of OPD services is creating a grave situation. Telephone numbers given on the hospital websites remain mostly engaged. The government should come up with some other mechanism,’” Zainab, a patient suffering from heart desease here in Srinagar told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).
“The government needs to come up with some better plan. Problems of the general public should not be overlooked while fighting the spread of Covid-19”, said another patient suffering from Asthama.
KINS have already reported that hundreds of people in Kashmir are facing hardships as they are unable to get their routine checkup done.
Only emergency services are operational and OPDs in government and private hospitals have been closed to stop the assembly of people to contain the spread of coronavirus.
As per the guidelines issued by the government, general public can take telephonic consultation by the medium of text message (SMS), Whatsapp message, call as well as video call on the telephone.
A senior doctor here in one of the hospitals told KINS that they were facing an extraordinary situation which is beyond their control. “Even in this crisis, we are making efforts so that people get medical advice,” he said insisted not to be named.
He said that Doctors are also working under pressure. In the absence of physical examination of patients seeking consultation, a wrong diagnose can land them in legal trouble”.(KINS)
