On Thursday morning, members of civil society and local residents gathered outside District Hospital Shopian, demanding adequate manpower, specialist doctors and essential equipment at the facility.
The protesters warned that they would intensify their agitation, including by going on a hunger strike, if the authorities failed to address what they described as persistent deficiencies at the hospital.
The hospital was established in 1977 as a Sub-District Hospital (SDH) and was upgraded to a District Hospital after Shopian was granted district status in 2007.
Despite catering to a population of more than 2.5 lakh, residents said the hospital continues to face shortages of specialist doctors, technical staff and diagnostic facilities, forcing patients to seek treatment outside the district.
“We will go for a hunger strike if the hospital is not provided with all the facilities a district hospital deserves,” said Mitha Gatoo, a civil society member.
Gatoo said the hospital was functioning without several crucial specialists, including a urologist and cardiologist, while other categories of staff were also inadequate.
He said the shortage was particularly affecting patients requiring diagnostic services.
“The USG facility shuts at 4 pm. Afterwards, the patients have to either visit private diagnostic centres or are referred to Srinagar,” Gatoo said.
He said patients from Shopian were being forced to travel outside the district even for services that, in their view, should be available at a district-level hospital.
The protesters also raised questions over the utilisation of equipment already available at the hospital.
While the facility lacks key diagnostic services such as an MRI, some of the available equipment remains unused because of a shortage of trained personnel, they said.
“An ECHO machine is gathering dust because there are no technicians available in the hospital to operate it,” Gatoo said.
He said the absence of specialists and technical staff was undermining the purpose of having a district hospital in the area.
Magray Mansoor, another civil society member, also joined the demand for strengthening the hospital and said the authorities needed to take immediate steps to address the shortage of staff and facilities.
The residents said the problem was not limited to one particular department but involved several areas of healthcare, affecting patients who depended on the government hospital for affordable treatment.
Ashok Kumar Bali, a resident and former councillor, said he would also join the proposed hunger strike if the authorities failed to address their demands.
Bali said the hospital served a large population and should be equipped with the doctors, paramedical staff and diagnostic facilities required of a district hospital.
The protesters called on the health authorities and the administration to assess the hospital’s requirements and fill vacant posts besides ensuring that existing equipment was put to use.
They said people in Shopian should not have to travel to Srinagar or rely on private facilities for basic and specialised healthcare services that should be available at the district hospital.
The civil society members said they would wait for the authorities to respond to their demands but warned that failure to act would leave them with no option but to intensify their agitation.
