J-K HC takes cognisance of cardiac procedures' shutdown at Jammu super speciality hospital

Jammu, Dec 9 (PTI) The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh took serious note of reports regarding the shutdown of cardiac procedures at the Government Super Speciality Hospital (GSSH) in Jammu owing to the suspension of life-saving medical supplies over unpaid dues to vendors and, terming it a "highly sensitive matter", initiated suo motu proceedings.

The Jammu and Kashmir Health Department on Tuesday began a detailed inquiry to ascertain the reasons for the incident, fix responsibility and take remedial measures to prevent any recurrence. The department also directed the drug controller to shut down the medical shops of the defaulting suppliers for violating various rules.

"Ex facie, the matter is highly sensitive. Thus, we are impelled to take suo motu cognisance of the prevailing conditions," Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal observed in an order.

The court directed the Registrar (Judicial) to register and number a petition titled "Court on its own motion versus Nemo" in public interest and place it before the same Bench during the course of the day.

As prayed by the Amicus, S S Ahmed, the proceedings were deferred to December 29, the court said.

Referring to a news report published in "Excelsior", the court noted that cardiac services at GSSH had come to a grinding halt as authorised suppliers of emergency cardiac devices, including stents, pacemakers, balloons and Cath Lab consumables, suspended supplies due to unpaid dues amounting to nearly Rs 30 crore under the Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

"As a result, the hospital's Cath Lab operations have been completely paralysed. Ordinarily, GSSH performs around 25 cardiac procedures daily, but owing to the current impasse, not a single heart-related intervention could be carried out throughout the day, placing vulnerable cardiac patients at serious risk," the court observed.

The development occurred during the hearing of four long-pending public interest litigations (PILs) seeking directions for strengthening medical infrastructure in the capital cities and for regulating private nursing homes and health centres in accordance with national guidelines.

The Bench noted that the issues involved were multifaceted and had remained unresolved for over a decade despite the filing of 15 status and compliance reports by the authorities.

Ahmed submitted that he had examined all petitions and orders passed in the matters and sought time to collate the material and submit a structured affidavit identifying the issues requiring adjudication.

Notices were issued to the concerned government departments and officers. PTI AB KSS KSS