Inadequate radiology and pathology services in the district hospital are causing great inconvenience to the growing number of patients. Many patients are referred to the Dr Bheem Rao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital due of lack of proper facilities.
Even as the number of patients has risen, the hospital administration has not paid any heed to the complaints, said a few patients in the district hospital. After the hospital was shifted from its previous location in Pandri to Police lines a year before, the number of patients were very less. But gradually with familiarity the patients increased. Presently, the district hospital sees more than 350 patients every day but fails to provide a matching service.
Queue in front of the pathology lab begins from 9 am but the lab does not open till 10 am. The lab shuts at 12 and the pending tests are carried forward to the next day. Many a times, the delay deteriorates patient’s condition and makes the case complex. “I have been waiting in the queue for hours to get my blood sample tested. Sometimes, the process is so slow that I have to wait for 2-3 days,” said a patient in district hospital.
Apart from X-ray, basic tests like thyroids, CT scan, sonography are unavailable at the district hospital. Patients are asked to go to Ambedkar hospital to get these tests. Two CT scan machines in the hospital are awaiting repair for many months now.
Moreover, there is a huge waiting line at the Ambedkar hospital too. The patients have been asked to come after 15 days due to rush. The opening and closing times of the OPD is also troubling the patients. Even though the OPD is supposed to open at 8 am, the doctor check-in at 9 am and leave an hour before at 12 noon.
When contacted, civil surgeon BK Das said that the inflow of patients has increased manifolds. There are 34 doctors in the hospital, he said. “We are trying to provide as much as we can. We have improved a lot over the few months and are working hard for even better results.”