Kashmir Reader: Srinagar:
Saturday, April 19, 2014.
The lone
tertiary care hospital in the Valley, SKIMS, has in the last eight years
witnessed only 19 per cent increase in bed strength against 40 per cent surge
in patient rush in the In Patient Department (IPD).
In 2005, the
SKIMS’ IPD (main hospital) received 33,877 patients. The number increased to
48,353 in 2013. However, only 112 beds— from 550 in 2005 to 662 in 2013—were
added during the eight year period.
The
stagnation in bed strength was witnessed in trust hospital that runs under the
aegis of SKIMS and where gynecological care is provided. Its bed strength
remained stuck at 27 since 2005 while the patient rush increased by 12.5
percent till 2013; in 2005, the trust hospital received 2,881 patients in its
IPD and the figure rose to 3,243 in 2013. The IPD of the SKIMS comprises
general admitting wards for the Clinical Department, Intensive Care Units and
other intermediate care areas.
These figures
were revealed in reply to an RTI query.
The RTI
revealed that in 2005 the Out Patient Department (OPD) in the main SKIMS
hospital was 393,099 which jumped by 15 percent in 2013 touching 453,475.
The rush to
the trust hospital increased by 39 per cent touching 73,890 patients in 2013;
the figure stood at 53, 034 in 2005.
The
Outpatient facility comprises a polyclinic where patients are screened and
filtered for further assessment in the Referral Clinic.
The total bed
strength of the SKIMS including trust hospital is 689. It was 577 in 2005.
The RTI reply
also said that the hospital has 23 invasive ventilators and eight non-invasive
ventilators in different ICUs.