SKIMS looting patients in name of Covid-19, authorities deny allegations

Kashmir Age Report

Srinagar, July 31: Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) one of the largest medical Institutes in Kashmir is facing mounting criticism from the Covid-19 patients who allege that the drugs provided by the institute are costly in comparison to other health facilities.

A patient for instance alleged that a free injection is provided to patients in JVC, Hospital in Bemina Srinagar while as the same injection is charged at Rs. 3600 at SKIMS Soura.

Patients lamented that while the world is struggling to get rid of the coronavirus, SKIMS has started selling an injection needed for the treatment of corona patients for Rs. 3600. The same injection is provided by other hospitals to the patients free of cost.

Meanwhile, the officials at SKIMS claimed that the time for free treatment has gone and the Covid-19 drugs including Remdesivir are not free.

Sources said that the injection called Remdesivir at SKIMS is being sold by a relative of the current director and that a separate counter has been set up inside the hospital.

According to the Kashmir Press Service, the management of SKIMS needed to treat the crying patients but they began to sell drugs to patients on a counter set up inside the institute.

A health official at SKIMS said that if the government had provided sufficient amounts to the medical department, especially to the SKIMS, for the fight against the virus, the hospital would not have faced any difficulties to treat Covid-19 patients. “I ask the government why these injections and drugs are not kept available to the patients free of cost.”

Meanwhile, the source also revealed that the director of the institute had taken advantage to facilitate his relatives during the recent lockdown while transport was missing from the roads across the country. An ambulance of the institute was sent to Delhi from where his relative had to bring a consignment of anti-virus equipment, hundreds of kilometers from Kashmir.

“By sending an ambulance to Delhi for the benefit of a single individual, the Director has misused his position and caused a loss of thousands of rupees to the exchequer,” the source said.

Kashmir Press Service when contacted Dr. Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent of the Institute, denied the allegations and said the provision of providing Remdesivir free of cost is impossible.

He stated that as an independent institution, SKIMS has the right to make such a decision. “The time for free treatment is over and these days, the goal is not ‘free treatment’ but ‘standard’ medicines.”

Dr. Farooq Jan said that the hospitals which provide free injections to the patients are not able to maintain the supply as a result of which patients die.

He said that in the early days of the virus, people had to buy the injection from the black market for Rs 7,000, after which SKIMS decided to provide this medicine to patients on a no-profit, no-loss basis.

He added that it is very difficult to maintain the supply chain of such an important medicine, providing hospitals are not able to maintain this supply chain.