2019 ‘Aerobridge’ Project Connecting SMHS With SHH Hospital Stalled

Deliberations On To Fix Technical Issues: Sec Health

Jahangir Sofi

Srinagar: The absence of a crucial overhead bridge, between the SMHS (Shri Maharaja Hari Singh) hospital and its multi-specialty counterpart, the Super Specialty Hospital (SSH), has left patients and their attendants grappling with daunting challenges.

Despite the sanctioning of an "Aerobridge" project in 2019 aimed at facilitating seamless transfer between the two healthcare facilities, no tangible progress has been made, exacerbating the plight of those in need of specialized medical care.

Several attendants and patients complained that they had to shift their patients on stretcher or wheelchair through a highly congested traffic road between SSH and SMHS hospital.

“There is no seamless movement between the two hospitals, although sometimes there are ambulances available, but that does not happen to be always,” said an attendant

The proposed Aerobridge project, conceived to enhance the quality of healthcare services and expedite patient transfers, remains mired in inertia. Despite substantial allocations to the health department in the region's budget for the year 2023-24, the long-standing issue persists, underscoring the disconnect between policy intentions and onground realities.

However, in response to a question over the absence of overhead bridge during a recent event, Secretary health for Jammu and Kashmir Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah cited the technical issue as an impediment, but said they along with the team of concerned engineers are trying to find a solution.