MoU signed to upgrade dental care in Budgam’s Khaag block

Upgraded dental care facilities will soon reach the remote Khaag block in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district following a new collaboration between two leading medical institutions, officials said on Friday.

The Department of Public Health Dentistry at Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Community Medicine at Government Medical College, Srinagar.

“The agreement focuses on the collaborative strengthening, upgrading and capacity building of the Dental Health Centre at PHC Khaag, a rural health training centre of GMC Srinagar mandated by the National Medical Commission in Budgam district,” said Dr Aasim Farooq, head of the Department of Public Health Dentistry.

He said that the initiative could serve as a model for expanding dental healthcare services across the Union Territory. “The department is already running five such peripheral centres in collaboration with Government Medical College Baramulla and the Directorate of Health Services at CHC Tangmarg, PHC Sallar Anantnag, HC Fakir Gujri Srinagar, UHTC Bagi Islam Baramulla and RHTC Kalantra Baramulla,” Dr Farooq added.

The collaboration follows the implementation of decisions taken at a meeting chaired by NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod K Paul in September last year to address key challenges faced by the Union Territory in improving access to dental healthcare.

Officials said that the major challenges include the rural-urban disparity in dental services, advanced dental care being largely limited to dental colleges and the absence of a structured framework for training and capacity building of existing manpower.

Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Kaur Bali, principal of Government Dental College and Hospital, Srinagar, said that the partnership reflected the institution’s commitment to extending quality healthcare services beyond its campus.

“This collaboration embodies the commitment to taking quality dental care beyond the confines of the college. By joining forces with the Department of Community Medicine, we are adopting a holistic approach to upgrade the Dental Health Centre in Budgam into a model facility that serves as a benchmark for peripheral healthcare in the Valley,” Bali added.