The work in the radiology department of the associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) was brought to a grinding halt as important diagnostic machines like MRI, CT scan and digital X rays were non functional on Friday. Adding to the woos of the patients and the department the lone Digital X- ray machine of the hospital also played truant on Friday. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine of the hospital went out of order on Thursday due to power problems. This important machine was also dysfunctional on the day. It is pertinent to mention here that Computer assisted Tomography (CAT) machine of the hospital is out of order for last twelve days.
The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital, Dr KK Tamta said that the cable supplying power to the MRI machine got short-circuited on Thursday and it would be restored by Saturday. He said that minor problem has occurred in the digital X ray machine and it too would be repaired. Uncertainty however prevails over the repair of the CAT scan machine as it not under any maintenance contract. The Siemens Company which manufactures the machines is not interested to repair the machine till the department clears its pending payment of `26 lakh. It is worth mentioning here that the medical college received a sum of `50 lakhs in the month of August this year to renew the maintenance contract of various machines of the hospital however the CMC of the CT scan was not renewed at that time due to procedural problems.
“Most of the machines of the department are very old now. The hospital has a large patient load and based on it the department should at least have two CAT scans and three digital X ray machines. One of a digital X ray machine of the department is non functional from last four months, it is not in a repairable condition now. The government should also increase the number of radiologists and technicians in the department and install new machines in place of old ones,’’ said a staff member on condition of anonymity.
The patients are bearing the maximum brunt of non functioning of these important diagnostic machines of radiology department. More than 25 MRI, 50 CAT scan and 250 digital X rays are done per day on an average in the radiology department of the hospital.