SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: The death toll at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital in the summer capital has risen to 3110 deaths till November this year.
According to official statistics, the number of deaths has witnessed an increase from 1813 deaths in 2020 to 2068 in 2021 and a staggering 3176 in 2022. The figures for 2023 alone show 3110 reported deaths, painting a grim picture of the healthcare situation in the region.
The official data has been obtained by MM Shuja through an RTI application filed in the SMHS Hospital Srinagar.
The breakup of deaths in 2023 include 82 in radiation oncology, 211 in surgical, two in ENT, one each in dermatology and burn units. These alarming numbers have sparked concerns among the public and raised questions about the hospital’s efficacy in handling medical emergencies. Amid the surge in deaths, the SMHS hospital administration has stated that as many as 156 ventilators were procured in the last three years from 13 different companies, covering adult, portable, and transport ventilators. “The hospital administration has undertaken various infrastructural development works to improve the patient care in the SMHS hospital,” the official document reads. With regard to the infrastructure, the hospital administration has stated that construction of New Emergency Theatre Block has been taken into hand while 16 Bedded Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) has been constructed and commissioned and six new oxygen plants with 1000 LPM each have been installed within the Hospital campus. “Construction of extension of ENT Department has been taken into hand and a new CT scan machine has been procured and installed in the department of Radio-diagnosis of the Hospital,” the official document reads. Despite taking up infrastructural development works, the alarming surge in deaths has raised questions about the overall state of healthcare in the region.