J&K Chief Secretary sets vision to transform SKIMS into quaternary care hub
Atal Dulloo assures the institute of all possible government support to upgrade its capacities in super-speciality healthcare
The Standing Finance Committee (SFC) of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, met after a gap of more than five years under Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, giving a fresh push to long-pending developmental initiatives at the premier medical institution.
A spokesman said the meeting had set a clear vision for “transforming the premier medical institution into a quaternary healthcare facility and Centre of Excellence in the region”.
The last meeting of the SFC was held in August 2021. The revival of the high-level financial and administrative mechanism is expected to accelerate critical infrastructure projects, strengthen institutional capacities and provide a roadmap for the future growth of SKIMS.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Secretary called upon the SKIMS administration to set a higher institutional benchmark by transforming the institute into a quaternary healthcare facility and a Centre of Excellence for medical institutions across the region.
He assured the institute of all possible government support to upgrade its capacities in super-speciality healthcare, advanced medical technologies, medical education and cutting-edge research, in line with the original mandate and vision behind its establishment.
Dulloo stressed the need for an all-round transformation of patient-care services, with SKIMS adopting the latest technologies, treatment protocols and medical practices evolving globally.
He said the institute needed to be “several notches higher” in its approach, infrastructure and facilities to meet the emerging healthcare requirements of the region, and emphasised the need to continuously benchmark it against the best national healthcare facilities.
He directed the SKIMS administration to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening patient care, infrastructure, equipment, human resources and specialised services, with the objective of ensuring that patients from Jammu and Kashmir did not have to travel outside the region for advanced and highly specialised treatment.
The Chief Secretary also emphasised strengthening SKIMS as a Centre of Excellence in medical education and research, particularly in areas such as cancer and other diseases of growing prevalence in the region. He called for greater focus on research-driven healthcare solutions and the creation of a pool of highly skilled medical professionals capable of addressing emerging health challenges.
He also stressed that access to quaternary-level healthcare should be expanded so that people could avail themselves of advanced treatment facilities closer to their homes, irrespective of their socio-economic status.
Earlier, SKIMS Director Prof Mohd. Ashraf Ganie presented a vision for institutional expansion, outlining measures to strengthen tertiary and quaternary healthcare, augment specialised human resources, upgrade infrastructure and integrate modern medical technologies.
Highlighting SKIMS’s pivotal role as the apex healthcare institution of the region, he presented key performance indicators reflecting the institute’s extensive service delivery, including lakhs of outpatient visits, thousands of inpatient admissions and a large volume of laboratory and radiological investigations undertaken during the year.
