Srinagar, 26 August (H.S.): Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday called for making advanced healthcare accessible beyond major cities and specialised institutions, saying the country must bridge the gap between what modern medicine can provide and what is actually available to people in smaller districts and remote areas.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the National Summit on Quaternary Healthcare: A National Strategy for Advanced Care at SKICC Srinagar, Sinha said the challenge of providing advanced healthcare is not confined to Jammu and Kashmir but was being faced across the country.

Recalling his visit to a health centre near Akhnoor during the administration’s ‘Back to Village’ programme amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinha said a conversation with doctors there made him realise the difficulties faced by patients requiring diagnosis and treatment for complex diseases.

He said one of the doctors had told him that families often brought sick children to the health centre hoping for proper diagnosis and treatment, but the absence of equipment for diagnosing complex diseases left doctors helpless.

Sinha said the lack of specialised facilities often forced families from remote areas to undertake long journeys to Jammu, Chandigarh or Delhi in search of treatment.

“I feel that the patience of the mother and the patience of the father is not just in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, stressing that the issue was much wider and required a national approach.

The Lieutenant Governor said India had made significant progress in healthcare over the past 10–12 years, including expansion of health insurance coverage, vaccination programmes, medical education and healthcare infrastructure.

He said the country had also witnessed a substantial expansion of medical infrastructure, with new AIIMS, medical colleges and MBBS seats being created across the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar