Nazia Qureshi
The healthcare system in Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar’s premier hospital, SKIMS Soura, is a microcosm of neglect and systemic inefficiencies. Over the course of 25 harrowing days spent caring for my ailing father at SKIMS Soura, I encountered firsthand the grim realities of a healthcare system that prioritizes bureaucracy over compassion, hierarchy over healing, and politics over professionalism.
While SKIMS Soura stands as a beacon of medical expertise in the region, its functioning tells a different story—one of neglect, administrative failures, inadequate facilities, and a lack of empathy from the very professionals entrusted with the task of healing. Below, I outline the critical challenges that plague patient care in hospitals across Kashmir, with SKIMS Soura being the prime example.
- The Golden Card System: A Failed Promise
The Golden Card system, designed to alleviate the financial burden of healthcare, has become a bureaucratic nightmare for patients and their families. Navigating this system is a labyrinthine process that drains time, energy, and resources.
Obtaining essential medicines under the scheme involves standing in multiple queues, and even after completing these formalities, the card barely covers anything beyond the cheapest medications. For more expensive or life-saving drugs, patients are left with no option but to purchase them privately, rendering the Golden Card a hollow promise. Far from easing healthcare access, this system exacerbates the struggles of already distressed families.
- Inadequate Facilities and Poor Hygiene
Despite substantial government expenditure, the infrastructure at SKIMS Soura remains shockingly substandard. Imagine a ward housing 36 patients relying on a single exhaust fan for ventilation, resulting in stifling heat and an increased risk of infections. Air conditioning, a basic necessity in modern hospitals, is glaringly absent.
Sanitation is another glaring issue. Cockroaches, rats, and insects infest the wards, posing serious health hazards. This stark lack of hygiene persists, even as doctors and administrators enjoy air-conditioned offices and other privileges. An on-duty engineer I spoke to lamented how hospital resources are funneled into ensuring administrators’ comfort, while patients suffer in deplorable conditions.
- Administrative Apathy and Mismanagement
The negligence extends beyond infrastructure. Basic services like clean bedding are neglected, with patients required to change their own sheets—or endure the same sheets for weeks. Overcrowded, slow-moving elevators add to the distress of patients and their families, while the cafeteria maintains a stark division: a cleaner section reserved exclusively for doctors, leaving patients and attendants to fend for themselves in unhygienic conditions.
During daily doctor rounds, one expects reassurance and guidance. Instead, patients and attendants are met with curt dismissals. When I inquired about my father’s treatment plan, the doctor’s response was dismissive: “We know what to do.” Such attitudes only deepen the divide between medical professionals and the families they are meant to serve.
- Politics in Medicine: When Patients are Forgotten
An unsettling dynamic of hierarchy and politics dominates the hospital. Junior doctors clean and prepare wards for rounds, creating an illusion of order for senior physicians, while neglecting the actual care of patients. In this ecosystem, doctors appear more invested in internal politics than patient welfare, undermining the very purpose of their profession.
- Misdiagnosis and a Lack of Empathy
My own experience highlighted another critical failing: misdiagnosis. While caring for my father, I developed a painful infection. A hospital doctor prescribed antibiotics, which I took for 18 days with no relief. Only later did a private doctor discover that a culture test had been overlooked, revealing resistance to the prescribed medication. This negligence cost me my health and thousands of rupees, all due to the indifference of a doctor more interested in promoting certain drugs than ensuring proper care.
- A Silver Lining: Compassion Amid Chaos
Amid these failures, there are still examples of dedicated professionals who restore some faith in the healthcare system. Dr. Vivek, a pulmonologist at SKIMS, stood out as a beacon of hope during my father’s ordeal. His compassionate approach and effective treatment demonstrated the impact of empathy and professionalism in healthcare. There are undoubtedly others like him, but their efforts are overshadowed by the systemic failures that dominate the institution.
A Call for Reform
The neglect of patient care at SKIMS Soura reflects deeper systemic issues across Kashmir’s healthcare sector. From the inefficiencies of the Golden Card system to mismanagement, poor infrastructure, and a lack of empathy, the system fails to uphold the dignity and well-being of those it serves.
The solution lies in systemic reform, starting with transparency and accountability at every level. Hospital administrators must prioritize patient welfare over personal comfort. Doctors must rediscover the empathy and dedication that brought them to the profession. Modern infrastructure, proper sanitation, and efficient services are not luxuries but necessities.
Most importantly, there must be a cultural shift within the healthcare system to restore trust between patients and medical staff. Compassion and integrity should guide every interaction, ensuring that hospitals fulfill their core mission: to heal, support, and provide solace to patients and their families.
Only through such comprehensive reform can the healthcare system in Kashmir truly serve its people with the dignity and care they deserve.
(Note:Nazia Qureshi, with dual master’s degrees in History and Sociology and 16 years of teaching at Presentation Convent School, is a dedicated educator fostering intellectual and personal growth.)
