By Meer Iqbal
Jammu: Kupwara’s public health system is on the verge of collapse as govt doctors give more importance to private clinics than to govt duties, claimed MLA Kupwara, Mir Muhammad Fayaz, while calling for an immediate and strict ban on private practice. Expressing grave concerns about the declining healthcare services, Mir said that most of the government doctors simply attend the hospitals and then divert their attention to private clinics, leaving the poor patients in the lurch. “The public hospitals are for common man, but doctors are leaving them in search of personal gain,” he said.
The legislator also lashed out at repeated requests for transfers by doctors posted in Kupwara, accusing most of them of using security issues as an alibi to get cozy postings in Srinagar and other cities. “This has made rural healthcare a crisis. Kupwara patients have to go miles for even simple treatment because doctors don’t want to remain in far-flung areas,” he complained. Mir also accused the uncontrolled private practice of causing a backlog in treatment quality in government hospitals. “Most doctors knowingly overlook their patients in public hospitals so they are compelled to go to their private clinics,” he charged, calling for the authorities to act immediately to correct this.
The MLA called for the health department to impose stringent regulations to ensure government doctors perform their duties in public hospitals. He cautioned that unless the problem is tackled on an emergency basis, the already weakened healthcare system in Kupwara will break down entirely, leaving thousands of citizens without access to basic medical facilities. Mir’s adamant stand has once again revived the controversy over medical ethics and the role of government physicians in public service. With the matter gathering steam, it now becomes the responsibility of the authorities to move with swift action and instill confidence in the healthcare system of Jammu and Kashmir.
