In Kashmir’s struggling healthcare system — where hospitals are chronically overwhelmed, infrastructure is fragile, and patients routinely face neglect — complaints about a lack of proper facilities and care are common. Walk into any public hospital here and you’re greeted by long lines of patients spilling out into the corridors, some standing for hours just to be seen. A simple test — a scan, a blood report, an MRI — can mean a wait of weeks, sometimes months, the appointment slip handed over almost as an afterthought. In Kashmir’s busiest hospitals, the emergency ward is often staffed by a handful of interns — overworked and underpaid — handling every case that comes through the door. I’ve never once seen a senior doctor there. My own experience has not been good. The rush is so overwhelming that doctors barely have time to properly examine one patient before moving to the next; within minutes, dozens have been seen. It isn’t entirely their fault — it’s how the system is, and it’s the same story across most public hospitals in Kashmir.

The grievances are understandable. Emergency wards in Kashmir’s busiest public hospitals are often managed by underpaid interns who bear the brunt of every incoming crisis. I have rarely seen senior doctors on the floor during emergency hours, and my own experiences have been disheartening. The patient rush is so overwhelming that doctors simply do not have the time to listen, examine thoroughly, or understand an individual’s suffering. Within minutes, they see dozens of patients. It is not entirely their fault; it is a structural failure that haunts most public hospitals across........

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