Yet another case of alleged medical negligence has surfaced in south Kashmir’s Kulgam District Hospital where a patient from Jammu’s Banihal region, who was suffering from a kidney ailment, died on Friday morning. His family has alleged that it was due to the medical negligence on part of the hospital authorities that Mohammad Imran Gujjar died. According to reports, Imran was admitted to the hospital on Thursday but his condition started to deteriorate in the evening. The family has alleged that when they tried to contact doctors, no one came to check the patient. This is not something new. Earlier there have been many instances where doctors are alleged to have abandoned patients after carrying out one or another procedure on them. In many cases, doctors abandon their duty stations entirely because they have to attend their private clinics. In such cases, poor patients who look towards the government for medical treatment, are left at the mercy of fate. A cursory inspection of the ward of hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir will reveal that the doctors are barely present at their stations. They are usually dozing in their rooms during night hours, leaving patients without any option for seeking medical assistance in case of emergency. Sadly, the government aggravates the problem by even providing night rooms for doctors for them to taken rest when they are supposed to work through the night. This results in self-inflicted callousness which sometimes can and has proven costly. The death of the young man from Banihal has again put Jammu and Kashmir’s healthcare facilities under spotlight. It has raised serious questions about the functioning of hospitals and the manner in which doctors attend to their duties. The family of the deceased man have alleged that the doctor on duty, instead of examining the patients physically, asked them to send his reports over WhatsApp, which has allegedly resulted in delay, ending the youngster’s life in a tragic way. The family members have demanded that the government must set up a committee to look into the matter and take strong action against the doctor who didn’t care to check the patient despite repeated requests. A high level probe team must be set up to assess the circumstances in which a youngster’s life was lost at a government-run hospital. It would be prudent to involve independent doctors in the probe team so that any black sheep, who might try to cover up facts, don’t get a chance to do so. The probe team must endeavour to find the truth and immediately punish the guilty, if any.