Sale of expired surgical equipment, consumables The officials of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura have gone to a new low to cover up their frauds and medical negligence by allegedly faking a burglary in the institute’s Drug Store, a day after exposing the fraud. On April 3, this newspaper has carried news about sale of expired surgical equipment and consumables by the SKIMS at its Drug Counters. As per official sources, the surgical equipment and consumables like Endoscopy Band, Platelet Theresis Set, and Prolene Mesh were being sold…
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Health
Khyber convicted of selling sub-standard dairy products
Company to pay Rs 9 lakh fine, sentenced to six months in jail A court in Budgam today convicted milk processing company Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited of selling misbranded, sub-standard and unsafe milk products in Kashmir. While convicting the company under Section 51, 52 and 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Court of Munsif, Budgam, Imtiyaz Ahmad imposed a penalty of Rs 9 lakh on the Khyber Agro Farms. The court also sentenced six month imprisonment to the accused company through nominated person. The court…
Read MoreGrowing drug abuse among youth matter of concern: HC
Says country’s proximity to opium-growing regions behind drug trafficking The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has said that due to India’s close proximity to the major opium-growing regions, the country is facing the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse among the youth is increasing, which is a matter of concern. These observations were made today by the J&K High Court while dismissing a habeas corpus petition by a “drugs trafficker”, Jahangir Ahmad Khan, a resident of Wanigam in north Kashmir’s Baramulla. Khan, who was first booked by the authorities…
Read MoreDAK expresses concern over rampant hysterectomies in Valley
Due to lack of clinical audit, thousands of innocent women in Kashmir are being subjected to “unscrupulous” hysterectomies — surgical removal of uterus, claimed Doctors Association of Kashmir. “Women in Kashmir are prone to osteoporosis which is facilitated by unnecessary and scandalous hysterectomies,” said DAK president Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan. Dr Hassan attributed the increasing cases of osteoporosis among women to removal of uteruses after pregnancy complications. As per the Union Health Ministry data, more than 12,000 hysterectomy surgeries were conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014 and 2015, he said. The…
Read MoreHepatitis ‘on rise’, but JK continues with ‘outdated’ testing technique
Despite evidence suggesting that Hepatitis-C infection is on rise in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir, the Health authorities in the State continue to test blood samples through “less-effective but cheaper technologies”, thus risking lives of hundreds of patients while allowing spread of the disease. Official data points to an increasing incidence of Hepatitis B and C infections— commonly spread through blood—in the Valley. The Kashmir Centre of Integrated Disease Surveillance Program—in its Activity Report for 2015—states that 262 cases of Hepatitis (both B and C) were reported from Kashmir…
Read MoreDoctors will be trained in latest diagnostic techniques : Health dept
With a rise in the heart disease cases in Kashmir valley, the health department has decided to train doctors in both rural and urban areas in latest diagnostic techniques and treatment procedures to save precious lives. A health official said that 5-10 per cent of patients with chest symptoms visit Out Patient Departments (OPDs) every year and there is a bright chance to properly diagnose and treat them at the initial stage. The timely intervention by doctors has already saved dozens of patients at health centres in Ganderbal, Bijbehara and…
Read MoreUnder fire, DFCO asks food outlet owners to ‘follow standards’
Under fire for its mass failure to address food adulteration and sale of substandard drugs, the Drugs and Food Control Organisation (DFCO) on Friday impressed upon all the food business operators dealing in processed, partially-processed or unprocessed food substances—intended for human consumption—to strictly adhere to the provisions laid down under Food Product Standards & Food Additives (FSSA) Rules & Regulations. A DFCO spokesperson said it has come to the notice of the State Government that some vendors dealing in preparations/marketing of Food Articles particularly including traditional “Wazwan” items are using…
Read MoreA SKIMS ward, ‘dedicated’ for cancer patients, reserved for VIPs
With incidence of cancer on rise in Kashmir, there is nothing being done at the governmental-level to address the lack of facilities for treatment of cancer patients in the Valley. At the SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura, a 20-bedded ward sanctioned for Surgical Oncology by a former Chief Minister has proved to be a damp squib. The Ward 2-P was allocated for cancer surgeries in 2012 when the Department of Surgical Oncology was established. While the Ward housed some faculty rooms for two years, it was not…
Read MoreLacking testing facilities, FSO ‘smells’ food, seizes stock, No testing facility for Oils, Milk
The Food Safety Organization on Tuesday seized stock of ‘chicken leg pieces’ being sold by a retailer in Bemina on complaints of ‘foul smell’ from the meat, officials said. Assistant Food Commissioner of Food Safety, Hilal Ahmed Mir said “it was obvious that this meat was stale given its smell.” When we asked whether there was any other mechanism to check whether meat being sold in Kashmir markets was fresh and stale, Mir said: “In such` products, smell is an indicator for us. We do not have any other system to…
Read More40% of combination drugs putting lives at risk: Doctors’ body
The Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) has raised concern over the presence of 40 per cent “dangerous” fixed dose combinations (FDCs) of medicines in the markets here. “The state is flooded with unsafe combination drugs putting lives of people at risk. At least 40 per cent of the FDCs in the market are irrational and these risky combinations are jeopardising public health,” said DAK president Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan in a statement issued here. “Though the state has formulated its own essential medicines list, the drugs have not been made available because of…
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