Srinagar, Aug. 28 -- Vision of quaternary healthcare, where the most advanced treatments are made available to all, is compelling. Yet the lived reality at the grassroots exposes a stark contradiction. In many districts, even the most basic structures are absent. Ambulances that should serve as lifelines are missing, diagnostic equipment is unavailable, and staffing remains inadequate. Without strengthening these foundations, the promise of advanced care risks becoming a distant aspiration rather than a lived reality.

The inequity is glaring; families in smaller towns and remote areas are compelled to travel long distances to metropolitan centres, not for luxury procedures but for essential diagnosis and treatment. Geography continues to...