Itifaq Lone
KARGIL: Apart from other several challenges in the union territory of Ladakh, the remoteness and harsh climatic conditions of the UT pose several challenges to healthcare infrastructure.
Despite being an important and first preference, Ladakh lacks high-tech healthcare facilities, and the availability of medical specialists is minimal.
Understandable is that the region faces challenges in providing high-tech healthcare in Ladakh is its geography. Ladakh is a high-altitude region that experiences extreme temperatures, making the transportation of medical equipment and medicines a difficult task. The lack of specialized human resources is another hindrance in providing high-tech healthcare in Ladakh.
In Kargil district of the UT, the main patient flow remains in the District Hospital Kargil (DHK), and even a minor problem in the service providing pushes the people to wall besides forcing them to move to other cities of the country for healthcare.
In the very hospital, for the last three day, the CT Scan machine has been out of order, and reportedly the patients are being referred to Srinagar. Reports added that no immediate action has been taken so far after its failure.
In start of this year also, the machinery of district hospital were dysfunctional in February and March months and the authorities had suspended a small operator of the hospital.
The residents allege the official negligence in maintenance of the healthcare infrastructure in the hospital, besides lack of modern high tech infra. “The machinery not only in DHK, but also in other healthcare institutions is very old and needs to be replaced with high tech infra,” said a resident.
He added that we live in a digital world wherein we use smartphones instead of a landline, that is transformation, and we should also transform the medical infra from ‘too old’ to high tech.
Another resident asserted that to overcome these hurdles and bring high-tech healthcare to Ladakh, the government must invest in building modern and sustainable healthcare infrastructure. Establishing mega diagnostic centres with state-of-the-art medical equipment, including CT-Scan, MRI and X-ray machines, is crucial.
“The government should encourage and support the private sector in setting up world-class medical facilities in Ladakh UT, thereby creating employment opportunities and enabling patients to have access to better healthcare facilities. This will ensure that the local population benefits directly from the improved healthcare infrastructure and people can avail of world-class medical facilities,” he added.
One of the senior citizens told the Earth News that national health initiatives focusing on non-communicable diseases, mental health, maternal and child health, and emergency services are essential for people living in such remote regions. Telemedicine is an essential measure that can help in breaking barriers related to distance and time. It can enable remote access to medical expertise; facilitate consultations, diagnosis and treatment-related decisions. “In several other states, telemedicine has been successfully implemented through Public-Private Partnerships, and the same approach can be adopted in Ladakh,” he asserted.
The residents have appealed to LG BD Mishra and concerned health services department to intervene and mend the machinery in DHK besides having a thought on replacing the old equipment with high tech healthcare infra across the UT for the greater good of people.
Medical Superintendent District Hospital, Dr. Kacho Liyaqat Khan told The Earth News that the machinery at DHK is more than a decade old, and tendering for new machinery is in process.
“Even after the supply order from our side, it would take 90 days for the development,” Dr Khan said, “Tender of the same would be uploaded on the official website within 24 hours.”
Regarding the CT-Scan malfunction, the Hospital Superintendent said that the Engineer is on the way to Kargil and they would ensure the machine is repaired at the earliest.
