As Kashmir Valley battles the aftermath of the worst-ever floods in more than a century, healthcare is limping back to normal as most of the major hospitals have been cleaned of the slush and restoration work is going apace.

The major government-run hospitals like SMHS Hospital, Lala Ded Maternity Hospital, SKIMS Medical College Hospital Bemina, Bone and Joints Hospital and the lone children’s hospital – G B Pant had suspended operations after being flooded.

These hospitals suffered huge damages, both to infrastructure and equipment, and even as temporary arrangements were put in place, normal functioning would take a while to resume.

While SKIMS Bemina, SMHS and GB Pant Hospital remained inundated till the end of last week and were being cleaned, Bone and Joints Hospital was made operational last week after being cleaned and sanitized.

The maternity services at Lala Ded, where cleaning process is going on, was shifted to Bone and Joints Hospital. The ground floors of the most of the major hospitals were completely submerged in the floodwaters causing massive damage to some of the modern and start-of-the-art equipment including MRI system, X-ray machines, ECG machines and Color Doppler.

“There has been a huge damage in most of these hospitals, but we are trying our best to restore the services as soon as possible so that patients do not suffer,” Principal, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmad Pampoori, who looks after the associated hospitals of the medical college, said.

Pampoori said the Bone and Joints Hospital was made functional and Out-Patient Department (OPD) services at GB Pant and SMHS hospitals were restored by shifting them to the higher floors of the buildings.

“We started the OPD in SMHS yesterday (Saturday) and are hopeful of starting the emergency services in the upper floors of the hospital on Monday,” he said. The principal said the hospital has procured an X-Ray machine and the laboratory has been shifted to the second floor.

“We are cleaning the equipment. Most of the machines have been damaged beyond repair and we need to replace them. Some are being repaired and will be made operational soon,” he said. Pampoori said the In-Patient Department (IPD) services at most of the hospitals may be resumed next week.

“The services at LD would be made functional soon. The process is going on and we want to resume the services at all the hospitals very soon,” he said. The hospital staff, police personnel and volunteers are busy cleaning the hospital complexes, while Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is disposing off the waste, including spoilt hospital items like medicines, disposables and beddings besides fumigating these complexes.

For the fortnight since the floods hit the hospitals, as many as 5,77,595 patients reported to the OPDs in district hospitals across the Valley and 34,577 of them were admitted, officials said. These hospitals also conducted 1,435 major surgeries, they said.

The state government says it is assessing the loss in these hospitals and would take all necessary steps to restore them. “What we had achieved in the last 10 years, was washed away by the floods in 10 days,” state Health Minister, Taj Mohiuddin, said, adding government would do everything it can so that people do not suffer.