A resident of Bagtore, Gurez; a village near LoC, Suriya said due to lack of medical facilities and shortage of gynaecologists in the area, she is trying to reach out to the concerned authorities to ensure her baby is delivered at the district headquarters. What has aggravated the problem is Suriya and her family aren’t able to find a place to stay at Bandipora.
Gurez remains cut off from the district headquarters for almost six months due to heavy snowfall in the area.
“I have advised my family that I will not stay in Gurez during my delivery time. When a pregnant woman goes to a sub-district hospital in Gurez, she finds out how poor the facilities there are for us. My heart was pounding as I heard the painful stories of women who delivered babies at the SDH Gurez,” Suriya said.
She said that there has been no gynaecologist in the (SDH) Gurez since years so when a pregnant woman goes there for check-up, she is being attended by a physician.
Afrooza Begum, another pregnant woman, said that being pregnant is a big problem. “Every day a woman wonders what will happen if something suddenly happens to her and we don’t know to whom we should tell our tales,” she said. “Due to non-availability of a gynaecologist, pregnancy care is hit badly and women of the area face severe hardships.”
Similarly, Zubeeda Begum (name changed) another pregnant woman from Purana-Tulail village of Gurez is worried at her home and wonders when she will be free from this pregnancy period.
“Last year, I saw in my village a neighbouring pregnant woman was dying of pain and the whole village was crying out for help. It was snowing and nobody knew what to do. Two days later she was then airlifted by the army to Bandipora hospital,” she said.
An Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), worker from Gurez requesting anonymity said that she is a witness to the fact that many a times doctors at Gurez hospital have advised them to seek treatment at Bandipora Hospital for their betterment.
Block Medical Officer (BMO) Gurez, Doctor Tahira while showing her helplessness said that there has been a shortage of gynaecologist doctors in the hospital for almost nine years now about which she had written to the higher authorities since long but nothing has happened yet.
“Whoever we think will have a caesarean delivery we send her to Bandipora in advance and those who have normal delivery are being treated here,” she said, adding that in the winter season, they face a lot of difficulties here.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Bandipora also admitted that the gynaecologist post has been lying vacant there for years. “There is nothing I can do. Governments should fulfil the same, “he said.
