Filling Up Of 343 Posts For New Children Hospital Delayed.

As the new Children Hospital nears completion the posts requiring additional staff to run the facility remain vacant.

Over the past two years, Health and Medical Education department has referred 343 posts sanctioned for Pediatric Hospital in various cadres and categories to recruiting agencies.

A senior official in the department said that these posts were meant to be filled before the new 500 bedded Pediatric Hospital was to start operations.

“The GB Pant Hospital that has been functioning as Children Hospital for over a decade is a 200 bedded facility. When the pediatric facility is expanded to 500 beds, we need additional staff the run the augmented beds,” he said.

He said the additional posts include medical officers, faculty, nurses, paramedics and other categories required for smooth delivery of patientcare.

“At GB Pant Hospital also, the staff is not optimum given the load of patients. If the Hospital is shifted with no staff addition, it is going to be detrimental for patients,” he said.

The new 500 bedded Hospital for Pediatrics at Bemina is being completed, as per Health and Medical Education Department. The shifting, as per Additional Chief Secretary J&K Government, Vivek Bhardwaj, who headed the Health and Medical Education department up to Tuesday said he was hopeful that the shifting could take place in the month of May.

“We have been given to understand, and given the progress of work, the Hospital may be shifted in May itself,” he had told Greater Kashmir.

Regarding the recruitment of staff, he said, the posts stand referred. “We are hoping that the recruitment would be expedited by J&K Public Service Commission and J&K SSB,” he said earlier this week.