At a time when J&K's Medical Health department is already struggling with issues of non performance and other things, an incident has come to fore which will raise questions over it's functioning. A woman from a remote village in Kishtwar district was forced to deliver her baby on the roadside, just 800 metres from the District Hospital, after waiting nearly 30 minutes for an ambulance that failed to arrive on time.
Pertinently, Medical and health care department of the UT is already under scrutiny for a number of reasons like lack of accountability, medical negligence etc. The concerned minister Sakina Itoo has assured complete revamp including reshuffle of doctors in various hospitals.
As for this case which may put many heads under scanner, it is about a woman, resident of Kurna village in the Keswan area, had travelled nearly 40 kilometers to Kishtwar town early Friday morning for her delivery. As she approached the busy Bunastan Chowk locality, she went into labour.However, despite the proximity to a major health facility, she was left without timely medical support.
Local resident who witnessed the incident, said he saw the woman in distress and called neighbours for help.
“Women from nearby homes brought bedsheets to help cover her as she delivered the baby on the roadside,” a local resident said.
Eventually, local women helped the mother deliver on the road. By the time the ambulance arrived, the delivery was already complete.
The incident has sparked widespread concern and renewed criticism of the healthcare system in Jammu Kashmir, particularly in remote areas.
DODA legislator Mehraj Malik, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the current state of rural healthcare, condemned the continuing negligence. Malik has repeatedly raised the issue of inadequate facilities, shortage of staff, and lack of accountability in assembly sessions and public meetings. “We are losing lives not because of illness, but because of apathy and delay,” he recently stated during a protest in his constituency.
In response to mounting criticism, Jammu Kashmir Minister Sakina Itoo on Saturday announced that the administration would be strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the region.“New test labs will be opened across Jammu Kashmir, where 127 diagnostic tests can be conducted. Ambulances with emergency services are being provided so that people can be saved on their way to hospitals,” she said.
Villages like Kurna still lack basic health sub-centres, and people continue to rely on distant hospitals often reached only after hours of travel through difficult terrain.This is not the first such incident in the region. In 2019, a woman from Kupwara district delivered her baby outside Srinagar’s Lal Ded Hospital after allegedly being denied admission. The newborn died shortly after birth, triggering widespread protests and an official inquiry.
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