Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday emphasised the need to improve the handling of emergency cases and capacity at various Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) to ease the burden on major hospitals.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring that doctors serve beyond urban centres.

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“We must augment and improve the emergency handling capability and capacities in new GMCs to reduce the pressure on GMC Jammu and GMC Srinagar. Similarly, we must ensure that our doctors don’t just practise in cities. I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but rural areas also deserve proper healthcare access,” he said.

The Chief Minister was addressing JK MediCon-2025, the first-ever National Conference-cum-Workshop, at Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu. The event was organised by the J&K Medical Council in collaboration with the Student Research Development Council (SRDC).

The conference was attended by Minister for Health & Medical Education Sakina Itoo, former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, Secretary of the Health & Medical Education Dr Syed Abid Rashid, Principal & Dean of GMC Jammu Dr Ashutosh Gupta, Chairman J&K Medical Council Dr Muhammad Saleem Khan, senior professors, doctors, faculty, and students.

Omar Abdullah highlighted his government’s commitment to improving healthcare accessibility across Jammu and Kashmir.

“Our challenge is to make healthcare more easily accessible. Excessive pressure on GMC Jammu’s emergency services stems from the fact that healthcare in peripheral areas is not of the required standard. This forces people to flood into cities,” he noted. He emphasised that the solution lies in improving healthcare infrastructure in rural areas.
“The way to reduce this pressure is not just by expanding our infrastructure in Jammu but by strengthening facilities in peripheral areas. There was a time when we only had GMC Jammu and GMC Srinagar. Now, we have GMCs at the district level,” he said.

Touching on the ethical dimensions of modern medical trends, Omar Abdullah raised concerns about the intersection of medicine and profit-driven healthcare. “Where do we draw the ethical line in medicine? Is there such a thing as too much ethics? Does the pursuit of profit in medical care conflict with ethical responsibilities? Should hospitals treat patients as a means of revenue generation?” he asked.

Delving into the future of robotic surgery and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine, the Chief Minister highlighted both the potential and the concerns surrounding these advancements.

“One trend that seems to be catching on is the use of robotic surgery. Honestly, I can’t imagine a scarier prospect than entrusting my life entirely to a machine. At the end of the day, there is immense value in human contact, and that’s where doctors—who literally do God’s work—play an irreplaceable role,” he said.

The Chief Minister also acknowledged the growth plans for GMC Jammu and expressed his intent to contribute.

Earlier, the Principal of GMC Jammu, Dr Ashutosh, gave a detailed presentation on the college’s growth and future plans.