It’s been four days since 25-year-old Firdousa gave birth to a baby girl. The mother-daughter duo has been living in a relief camp at the Government Higher Secondary School in Soura.
Unlike other places, the camp is exclusively for patients and their attendants discharged from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) - the only functional hospital in the state.
Firdousa from Mahjor Nagar in Srinagar was rescued by local boys before she was shifted to a dargah on a hill top which had become temporary shelter for over 300 families since September 4. “She got into labour in the shrine and was shifted to the SKIMS Institute where she delivered the baby after C-section,’’ said her sister Nayeema.
After the delivery the hospital shifted her to the relief camp. “Since we are the lone functional hospital in the Valley, we have twice the load of patients than normal.
So, patients who can be discharged but still need some medical aid are being shifted to two nearby schools,’’ said Dr Farooq Jan, medical superintendent of SKIMS. Run by a local resident welfare association, the camp is at a walking distance from the hospital. For the last one week, the locals have hosted around 83 patients. The class rooms have been turned into makeshift medical camps where doctors and nursing staff from the SKIMS visitona regular basis. The RWA has taken care of medicines and food for the patients.
The SKIMS which is a tertiary care hospital, is for the time being handling even minor procedures like maternity cases and even trauma and orthopaedic usually handled by other hospitals, like Jehlum Valley Hospital (JVC) in Bemina, Lal Ded Hospital in Wazir bagh and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Hospital (SMHS) in Rainawari -- all affected by deluge.
{{/usCountry}}The SKIMS which is a tertiary care hospital, is for the time being handling even minor procedures like maternity cases and even trauma and orthopaedic usually handled by other hospitals, like Jehlum Valley Hospital (JVC) in Bemina, Lal Ded Hospital in Wazir bagh and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial Hospital (SMHS) in Rainawari -- all affected by deluge.
{{/usCountry}}The hospital has converted its surgical observation ward in maternity ward and started an orthopaedic centre at yet to be completed ward in the emergency services area.
“We received about 34 cases from Lal Ded hospital on Sunday night. The patients who were in labour or had just delivered were somehow shifted to SKIMS by their relatives and locals,’’ Dr Jan said.
As water started entering most hospitals, the SKIMS prepared emergency wards with a capacity of over 150 beds.