The machine landed at the hospital premises on December 5, 2009 but has not been installed even after 11 months. [break]This has drawn the attention of the Legislature-Parliament, whose sub-committee under the Women, Children and Social Welfare Committee (WCSWC) on Sunday directed Bir Hospital management to bring the equipment into operation within a month.
The installation has been delayed due to tussles between the Radiology Department at Bir, the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) and hospital management. Head of Radiology Department Dr Mukunda Raj Panthi, who became registrar of NAMS a few months after the machine arrived, is accused of having delayed the installation in revenge for management´s failure to accept the bid of Hospitec Enterprises.
“This is a baseless allegation,” argued Dr Panthi. A technical committee had recommended procurement of machinery manufactured by Mediso company of Hungary and supplied by Multiple Enterprises over the Philips machine supplied by Hospitec despite a note of dissent written by Dr Panthi, who was coordinator of the committee in his capacity as head of radiology department.
At Rs 25.16 million, the bid by Mediso was Rs 9.26 million lower than the one by Hospitec for Philips. It would have been better if the committee said Mediso was preferred to Phillips on price; instead it decided that the Philips machine failed to meet specifications demanded by the hospital, said Panthi.
“Philips is a popular company and I even presented data that showed that around 25 percent of 267 gamma cameras installed in the United Kingdom were manufactured by Philips while Mediso had just one,” Dr Panthi said.
The technical committee made the decision on June 24, 2009 and Dr Panthi claimed that he had asked for a few days to learn more about both companies and even correspond with them directly. “It would have looked incredulous to have rejected the Philips bid on grounds of quality,” he argued. “The difference of over nine million is a big thing and Mediso may have even looked the rational choice but they were in a hurry to bring the machine and overlooked reservations by the radiology department,” he added.
Dr Panthi claimed that he had been sidelined out of the whole process since then but there have been accusations that he did not cooperate in order to exact revenge for failing to get the Philips machine procured. “They must have taken a huge sum in commission from the company for getting Mediso and are now placing the blame on my shoulders as they have not been able to get the machine installed to rightfully earn that amount,” he countered.
Dr Panthi made a proposal for buying a MDCT (Multi Detector Computed Tomography) scanner after being appointed registrar and Hospitec became a strong contender for the deal. The MDCT has since been stalled, further strengthening accusations of his link with the supplier. “It´s ridiculous. Philips made the cheapest bid of around Rs 85 million, much lower than the over Rs 90 million quoted by Toshiba and Rs 100 million by Siemens, and it was hence a strong contender,” he fumed. “I have canceled an x-ray machine that was to be procured from Hospitec around two years ago on grounds of quality,” he further argued.
Machine to be installed within a month
Hospital Director Dr Buland Thapa claimed that the installation would be completed within the one-month deadline given by the parliamentary subcommittee.
“We will install the machine at the spot where the older one given by India was kept and will start replacing the old machine from Tuesday. We have also corresponded with the suppliers who have assured us they would bring engineers from abroad shortly,” Dr Thapa said, claiming that ever since he was appointed hospital director on June 28 he had taken the initiative to get the machine installed as soon as possible and he has nothing to do with the parliamentary subcommittee´s deadline.
“The delay is very unfortunate and people have to pay Rs 12,000 at Metro Radiology Imaging (a private institution) for a facility which we can provide for around Rs 3,000,” Dr Thapa stated. “In fact the hospital could have made around five million in profit by now if the machine were functional,” he claimed.
Doubts about safety of machine
Meanwhile, suppliers fear that the machine may have been damaged after having been kept packed inside the hospital premises. “We will not know the condition of the machine until it is unpacked. There are crystal panels inside the camera and they may be damaged. But we hope they are not,” Director of Multiple Enterprises Rabin Baral said.
He said the warranty period of one year would start from the day the machine is installed but it was not clear who will take the responsibility if the machine turns out damaged when it is unpacked. “The company has already written thrice to us regarding the delay in installation and we can talk about whether the company would bear responsibility for damage only when we find defects. But hopefully, it won´t come to that,” Baral said.
What is Gamma camera?
Gamma camera is an instrument used in nuclear medical imaging which analyzes the gamma rays emitted by radioactive materials injected, swallowed or inhaled by the patients for diagnosis of problems in brain, liver, kidney cardiovascular system, and cancer. It can measure bodily functions such as oxygen use, blood flow and glucose metabolism.
"It is different from other imaging technique like MRI and CT scan in that it can measure bodily functions. It can detect say what percentage of one´s organ like kidney is functioning at a given time and can also be used to detect spread of cancer throughout the body," according to Head of the Radiology Department at Bir Hospital Dr Mukunda Raj Panthi.
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