Srinagar, Aug 27: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for a balanced and integrated healthcare strategy that combines the development of advanced quaternary care with strengthening of primary and secondary healthcare services across Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the valedictory function of the Quaternary Healthcare & Research Summit: 4th J&K Medical Conference-2026 at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the Chief Minister said that while scaling tertiary healthcare into the fourth tier would enhance the capacity to provide highly specialised treatment, it must be accompanied by focused efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots.
The three-day summit, held from August 25 to 27, was organised by the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, under the aegis of NITI Aayog, Government of India, in strategic collaboration with AIIMS New Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh, along with AIIMS Jammu and AIIMS Awantipora. The conference was themed “Scaling Tertiary into Quaternary Healthcare: A National Strategy for Advanced Care.”
The Chief Minister said providing quality healthcare to citizens was one of the fundamental obligations of the government, adding that the medical profession was characterised by continuous learning, innovation and advancement.
Referring to the concept of quaternary healthcare discussed during the summit, Omar said the fourth tier could play an important role in decongesting tertiary care institutions.
However, he cautioned that merely creating a higher tier would not adequately address the pressures confronting premier healthcare institutions unless the underlying gaps in the primary and secondary healthcare system were addressed.
“While there are certain aspects of quality care that can certainly be improved by upgrading SKIMS to a quaternary healthcare institution, the fact is that it will not resolve the pressures that SKIMS finds itself under. These pressures are not because of a top-down vacuum; they are because of a weakness at the foundation level,” he said.
The CM observed that institutions such as SKIMS were essentially referral hospitals meant to cater to patients requiring highly specialised treatment. However, gaps at the primary and secondary levels often resulted in premier tertiary institutions having to undertake procedures and treatments that should ideally be available at lower levels of healthcare.
He cited routine surgical procedures such as gallbladder and appendicitis surgeries as examples of the burden being placed on tertiary institutions because of deficiencies in the lower tiers of the healthcare system.
“This defeats the purpose of the entire three-tier model of tertiary, secondary and primary healthcare,” he said, stressing that strengthening the foundation of the healthcare system was essential for the successful functioning of both tertiary and quaternary institutions.
Omar welcomed the conference held under the aegis of NITI Aayog and described the participation of leading institutions such as AIIMS New Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh and J&K’s own institutions as an important opportunity for meaningful collaboration.
He expressed hope that the engagement would translate into sustained cooperation, knowledge-sharing and institutional partnerships, particularly as J&K works towards strengthening its advanced healthcare ecosystem in line with the vision of a developed India by 2047.
The Chief Minister said the government would have to remain equally focused on ensuring access to good-quality basic healthcare beyond the two major urban centres of Jammu and Srinagar.
“We need to ensure good quality healthcare in rural J&K. I am not saying that we can either target or expect to provide SKIMS quality care in rural J&K. That is not the aim. But what we need to be able to ensure is that we can provide good quality basic healthcare beyond the two twin capital cities of J&K,” he said.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister released the book “Platinum Pearls in General Surgery Super Specialities” and the souvenir “SKIMS Journey of Transformation.” He also presented awards to nine winners of the Quiz Competition, Poster Presentation and Oral Presentation categories.