Srinagar, Dec 13, KNT: Amid a severe shortage of dental surgeons in government healthcare facilities across Jammu and Kashmir, the government has been criticized for deploying dental professionals for clerical roles and oversight of the Golden Card Scheme in the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK).
Insiders told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that this move has crippled dental health services, forcing patients to rely on private clinics where they have to spend exorbitant amounts.
Sources said that at least five dental surgeons have been assigned to administrative tasks under the Sehat Scheme and DHSK in Srinagar. This comes at a time when district hospitals and health centers are struggling with a dearth of dental professionals.
Sources said that no recruitment of dental surgeons has been made under the Public Service Commission (PSC) or National Health Mission (NHM) since 2010, while many serving dental surgeons have retired over the last 14 years.
Doctors within DHSK have also raised concerns, questioning how dental surgeons—specialized in dental issues—can adequately assess or scrutinize surgical cases in specialties like urology, oncology, ENT, orthopedics, and general surgery under the Golden Card Scheme.
“Deploying dental surgeons for tasks outside their expertise and for clerical roles undermines their professional capabilities and exacerbates the healthcare crisis,” said a doctor working with DHSK.
The policy has also affected peripheral health services, including school health programs.
Professionals in the health sector have appealed to the government to reconsider and address the shortage of dental surgeons in public healthcare facilities. [KNT]
