Health Archives | Page 37 of 51

Doctors will be trained in latest diagnostic techniques : Health dept

March 28, 2016 Editor

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…

Under fire, DFCO asks food outlet owners to ‘follow standards’

March 26, 2016 Editor

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…

A SKIMS ward, ‘dedicated’ for cancer patients, reserved for VIPs

March 25, 2016 Editor

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…

Lacking testing facilities, FSO ‘smells’ food, seizes stock, No testing facility for Oils, Milk

March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 Editor

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…

40% of combination drugs putting lives at risk: Doctors’ body

March 23, 2016 Editor

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…

Who’ll check safety of foods in Kashmir markets?

March 22, 2016 Editor

The abysmally poor food testing mechanism in Kashmir is allowing consumption of dangerous eatables by people, with officials failing to address the problem that is assuming alarming proportions, stakeholders said on Monday. The adulterated food is leading to multiple diseases among people, including cancer whose rate had doubled in the Valley in the past less than a decade. According to sources, the Valley’s lone Food Testing Laboratory at Dalgate here is “good for nothing.” The so-called Laboratory has archaic equipment while archaic methods are put into practice to test samples…

Recurring tremors rock Valley’s mental health

March 22, 2016 Editor

Hospitals report increasing number of patients of quake trauma ‘Aawha’, roughly translates as “arrived”, is a common call of people in Kashmir as power supply is restored after an outage. This word, however, has taken a new meaning. Now, fear stricken people in Kashmir use it as a warning to shift to safer places during recurring earthquakes. The Valley was rocked by at least 30 earthquakes in 2015-2016, most of them registering a magnitude of around five and some touching the magnitude of seven. The tremors have evoked no response…

Suffering from CANCER, Go to Delhi, elsewhere

March 21, 2016 Editor

RX: Go to Delhi, elsewhere Falling Cancer CARE: Lack of diagnostic, treatment facilities forces ‘migration’ of patients to other states; No PET-CT scan facility in Valley hospitals; Surgeries take more than 3 months The growing cancer incidence in Kashmir has failed to move the successive governments in Jammu and Kashmir as infrastructure for cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained abysmally poor over the past one decade, according to medicos and patients. The Regional Cancer Center at SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) at Soura here happens to be the only…

Doctor booked for attempt to murder

March 18, 2016 Editor

Kashmir police today accused a doctor of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital (SMHS) of attempt-to-murder an unconscious patient. The doctor had allegedly disconnected her oxygen supply. A female patient was admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital after an operation, when the accused allegedly removed her oxygen mask. “We have filed a case under the Section 307 (attempt to murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) against an accused doctor of the SMHS after receiving a complaint from a patient’s family member,” said Karan Nagar SHO Parvaiz Ahmad. Doctors had…