Despite being one of the largest and busiest tertiary care hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir, the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital in Srinagar is grappling with a severe staff crunch, with nearly 400 posts currently lying vacant.
This information, accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), was disclosed through a Right to Information (RTI) file obtained by RTI activist M M Shuja.
According to the details, the vacancies span various departments and include critical positions such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and technicians. This shortfall has added pressure on the existing staff, who are managing a massive patient load under challenging circumstances.
The vacancies include the post of Deputy Medical superintendent, Assistant surgeons, senior grade nurses, junior grade nurses, pharmacists, ECG assistants, laboratory assistant, radiotherapy assistant, drivers, laundry operators, multitasking staff, cook sweepers and others.
Details reveal that four drug counters are functioning in the hospital, including two Amrit drug counters, hospital drug counter and Janaushadhi drug counter.
A total of 9,86,174 patients were treated in OPD in the year 2023-24 while around 108000 were treated in IPD and in 2024, 825070 were treated in OPD and 93,000 were treated in IPD, according to details, adding that 3521 deaths were reported in the hospital in 2023 and 2214 were reported in 2024.
Around 21,000 surgeries were performed at the hospital in 2023 and 17,000 in 2024.
A senior official at the hospital said that despite the human resource shortage, the hospital has managed to perform nearly 17,000 surgeries in the past one year.
“From general surgeries to specialised procedures, our doctors and staff have done remarkable work. But we are stretched thin, and the unfilled posts are affecting overall efficiency and patient care,” he said.
The hospital caters to thousands of patients daily, not just from Srinagar but from across the Kashmir Valley, said a doctor wishing anonymity.
“When such a large number of posts remain unfilled in a major hospital, it can compromise patient care, delay procedures, and lead to burnout among staff,” the doctor said.
Patients and attendants also said that a shortage of staff often leads to delays in diagnostics, consultations and follow-ups—(KNO)
