JAMMU, Feb 14: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today emphasized the need to improve handling of emergency cases and capacity at various Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) to ease the burden on major hospitals.
He also stressed the importance of ensuring that doctors serve beyond urban centers. We need to augment and improve the emergency handling capability and capacity in new GMCs so that the pressure on GMC Jammu and GMC Srinagar is automatically reduced.
Similarly, we must ensure that our doctors don’t just practice in cities. I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but rural areas also deserve proper healthcare access.
The Chief Minister was addressing JK MediCon-2025, the first ever National Conference-cum-Workshop, at Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu. The event was organized by the J&K Medical Council in collaboration with the Student Research Development Council (SRDC).
The conference was attended by Minister for Health & Medical Education Sakeena Itoo, former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Secretary H&ME Dr. Syed Abid Rashid, Jammu West MLA Arvind Gupta, Principal & Dean of GMC Jammu Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Chairman JK Medical Council Dr. Muhammad Saleem Khan, senior professors, doctors, faculty and students.
Omar Abdullah highlighted his Government’s commitment to improving healthcare accessibility across Jammu and Kashmir. Our challenge is to make healthcare more easily accessible.
Professor Gupta pointed out the excessive pressure on GMC Jammu’s emergency services, which stems from the fact that healthcare in peripheral areas is not of the required standard.
He emphasized that the solution lies in improving healthcare infrastructure in rural areas. The way to reduce this pressure is not just by expanding our infrastructure in Jammu but by strengthening facilities in peripheral areas.
There was a time when we only had GMC Jammu and GMC Srinagar. Now, we have GMCs at the district level,” he said.
Speaking about MediCon-2025, the Chief Minister acknowledged its importance in fostering debates and discussions on key medical issues. There are all sorts of debates surrounding the topics that MediCon can address.
The good thing is that students are involved through SRDC,” he said. He also highlighted that participants will earn 11 credits through MediCon, which will encourage greater engagement and enthusiasm.
I hope the futuristic advancements in medical science will be part of our discussions-how much technology is beneficial, how much human contact should be replaced by machines.
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