Jammu & Kashmir is facing a major staff crunch in trauma centres to handle the growing number of road mishap and accident cases in the state. 

The Union Health Ministry during 2009-2010 sanctioned 10 trauma centres, six to Kashmir and four to Jammu in view of the rise in the number of road accidents. But the current situation is such that, due to the shortage of doctors, most patients are taken to the emergency ward of nearby hospitals or they die on the way.

One of the trauma centres in Mahanpur has only one emergency specialist and an Ayurveda specialist when each trauma centre is supposed to have nine registered specialists as per sanction. There is no anaesthetist and the emergency doctor is required to work round the clock. The hospital also lacks essential equipment. In Udhampur, the condition is reversed. Costly equipment purchased for the trauma centres is lying unused as there are no doctors and paramedics.

In February 2015, Governor NN Vohra had set a deadline by which all trauma centres in the state were expected to be fully operational with staff and equipment, but this order was not followed, and a condition of apathy still prevails. 

Information for the article was sourced from The Tribune. Find the original article by clicking here.