At a time when entire Kashmir Valley is aghast at the death of nearly 400 young patients at the city’s premier children’s hospital so far this year, a concerned chief minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, has given his nod to the proposal of setting up a new facility with an attached maternity provision in the summer capital.
Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had during a visit here last week squarely blamed the state government for the delay in building a new children’s hospital in the Valley and said that it had failed to upgrade healthcare facilities despite Centre’s full support, including releasing funds for setting up children’s hospitals, one each in Srinagar and Jammu.
Mr Abdullah on Thursday after giving his nod to the proposal of the state health and medical education department for construction of 200-bedded maternity and 250-bedded children hospital over an area of about nine acres (70 kanals) of land in Srinagar’s Bemina area gave it two weeks’ time for finalising building construction plan along with detailed project report.
The chief minister said that the establishment of the two institutions in close proximity to common diagnostic facilities would be a right step to ensure a better and up to the mark healthcare system is in place for the women and children at one place. “The establishment of the two important hospitals at one place will resolve the distance problem hampering the immediate medicare to the infants requiring this under special circumstances,” he said.