The new MRI machine recently installed at the State’s biggest health facility, Ambedkar Hospital at the cost of Rs 12 crore is breaking down time and again leading to disruption in test of patients. Reason behind the repeated failure of the machine is stated to be the inability of doctors and technicians to handle it properly.
Notably, in the Ambedkar Hospital an MRI Machine of 128 slices imported from Germany has been installed recently. This machine works at double speed in comparison to the older one. With this machine 100 to 150 patients can be tested in a day and after its installation the use of the old machine was stopped except in emergency situations as due to efficacy of this machine patients had hardly to wait for their test. But for the last two to three days, this machine is operated only in afternoon period, reason behind this is stated to be the inability of doctors/technicians concerned to handle it efficiently.
According to sources, engineer of the company which supplied the machine comes to start the machine daily between 9 and 11 am and only after that test of patients is conducted despite the fact that after the installation of the new machine, doctors and technicians were given training for nearly a month’s time but they are not able to fully utilise it.
Notably, the present MIR machine is not the only equipment which cannot be fully utilised by doctors/technicians here. Earlier also there were several modern equipment which the doctors and technicians of Ambedkar Hospital failed to operate upon or even mishandled them leading to inconvenience to patients. However, Radiology Department HoD Dr Vishnu Dutt denied that the machine was not fully operational and that doctors/technicians were not able to operate it. The machine is working and patients are usually tested, he added.
On the other hand, spokesman of Jawahalal Nehru Medical College Raipur Dr Arvind Neral said that at the time of purchase of modern equipment, an agreement is signed with the concerned company to provide training to the doctors/technicians concerned for at least one year. This company is also providing training to doctors and in due course of time this machine could be utilised with full capacity.