Acute specialist shortage at SDH Kralpora leaves over 1 lakh residents without adequate care

Kupwara, Apr 20: The persistent lack of specialist doctors at Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Kralpora has emerged as a major concern for residents, who say the situation has been causing prolonged inconvenience and undermining access to quality healthcare.

Locals said they have repeatedly raised the issue of deputing specialist doctors at SDH Kralpora, but no concrete steps have been taken so far. As a result, patients are left with no option but to travel considerable distances to Kupwara or Handwara to seek proper treatment.

According to residents, the hospital currently has only a few doctors, which is inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of a population exceeding one lakh. The absence of key specialists continues to affect patient care.

“We don’t have specialist doctors including ENT, orthopaedic, ophthalmology, paediatrics here, due to which we are supposed to visit Kupwara or Handwara for treatment. I fail to understand why specialist doctors are not being posted here,” said Irfan Lone, a resident.

He further added, “After our hospital was upgraded to SDH, we had high hopes of getting improved healthcare facilities but nothing like that happened ever. This hospital caters over one lakh but it has never been a healer to people.”

Residents also pointed out that although the operation theatre at SDH Kralpora was made functional last year, not a single surgery has been carried out so far, raising questions about its utilisation and the overall functioning of the facility.

They said the continued absence of specialists such as ENT surgeons, orthopaedicians, ophthalmologists, and paediatricians has severely limited the hospital’s capacity to provide comprehensive care, forcing patients—including the elderly, women, and children—to undertake difficult journeys for even basic specialised treatment.

Meanwhile, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Trehgam, Mir Saifullah, acknowledged the hardships faced by the people due to the shortage of specialist doctors at SDH Kralpora.

He said that the matter has already been taken up with the Health Minister and expressed hope that the grievances of the public would be addressed at the earliest.

Residents have once again urged the authorities to ensure the immediate posting of specialist doctors and make the operation theatre functional in practice, so that the hospital can truly serve as a reliable healthcare centre for the region.