SRINAGAR, JULY 29: The Committee on Estimates of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly today convened a meeting under the Chairmanship of Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez) to review the overall functioning of the Health and Medical Education Department, with emphasis on strengthening healthcare delivery and assessing the availability of medical manpower across the Union Territory.

The meeting was attended by members of the Committee including Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Ali Mohammad Dar, Javid Hassan Beigh, Irshad Rasool Kar, Sajad Shaheen, Sunil Bharadwaj and Pyare Lal Sharma. Commissioner Secretary, Health and Medical Education, M. Raju, Director SKIMS, Managing Director, National Health Mission, Principals of various Government Medical Colleges, Secretary, J&K Legislative Assembly, Manoj Kumar Pandita, besides other senior officers of the Health and Medical Education and Legislative Assembly were also present.

During the deliberations, the Committee undertook a comprehensive review of the department’s functioning, focusing on healthcare infrastructure, availability of human resources, quality of service delivery and the effectiveness of administrative mechanisms across Jammu and Kashmir.

The Committee sought detailed information regarding the sanctioned strength of doctors in all District Hospitals, Sub-District Hospitals and Medical Blocks across the Union Territory. It directed the department to furnish district and block-wise data on the sanctioned posts of doctors to facilitate a detailed assessment of healthcare staffing.

To evaluate the existing human resource scenario in the health sector, the Committee further called for block-wise details of filled and vacant posts in these health institutions for the last five years. The information will enable the Committee to examine trends in manpower deployment, identify critical gaps and recommend appropriate measures for improving healthcare services across Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking during the meeting, Chairman Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi reiterated the need for timely availability of accurate data to support evidence-based planning and policy interventions aimed at enhancing the efficiency, accessibility and quality of public healthcare services across J&K. He directed the Health department for immediate posting of doctors in rural and underserved areas.

The Chairman also called for timely interventions like installation of CCTVs to enhance status of security and monitoring mechanisms in public health institutions.

With a focus on strengthening administrative accountability, the Committee also sought information on the measures taken by the Health Department to implement online/Biometric Attendance systems for employees working across healthcare institutions in Jammu and Kashmir.