J&K floods: Doctors at Srinagar running short of medicines

Srinagar: "Do you have some insulin, I need it badly. My mother who is a diabetic has not had her insulin shot for six days and she badly needs some right now," a desperate looking man in his thirties asked SSB doctors at a

camp.

A doctor replied in negative and the man, without wasting a single moment, rushed back to his car and left. However, after about half an hour, he returned to the medical center with several vials of insulin and handed it over to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) doctor.

"You people are doing a wonderful job, please take these vials and help the people who are in need," said the young man introducing himself as doctor Shafat. He said that it was Saturday that the local volunteers rescued his family after his house remained inundated for several days.

"I just got the insulin supply from a nearby medical camp and after keeping with me what I required, I gave the remaining to the SSB people so that they can give it to the people like me who are in need of these medicines," he said. After the deluge, the fear of epidemic is lurking in the minds of doctors here who are facing an "acute" shortage of medicines.

Senior doctors at the medical camps being run by different agencies say they are now running out of lifesaving medicines and want an immediate replenishment of the same. Dr PM Kabui, the Medical Commandant of the SSB, said, "We are facing an acute shortage of medicines as we have run out of stock of several medicines like antibiotic for children."

For the past three days, SSB has been continuously running two medical camps across the Srinagar city and at one of its camps located at Hyderpora Bypass, Dr Kabui says he along with his team of four doctors have so far treated

1,500 patients.

Local doctors, who have volunteered to help the flood victims and are running a nearby medical camp, say some of their patients need urgent medical care. "All types of patients are coming to us, right from the one suffering from common cold to the patients with broken limbs," said Dr Tanveer.

He said that they have been working in close coordination with the local nursing homes across the Srinagar city where they refer the more serious patients. "There are a few nursing homes that are operational in the city and we refer serious patients there," Tanveer said. However, the doctors fear that as the water recedes in Srinagar city there are chances that an epidemic might break out in the city.

"Yes there are chances and we fear that a major epidemic of water-borne diseases might break out in the Kashmir Valley which might include life-threating diseases like dengue, diarrhea and hepatitis," said Dr Kabui who is in the medical profession for the past 27 years.