Bir's radiology staff shut down services

KATHMANDU, Nov 20: The staffers working at Radiology Department of Bir Hospital halted all services Sunday demanding overhaul of department with advanced technology.



With the closure of the services, hundreds of patients have been affected. As the only referral center of the country, hundreds of patients from across the country visit Bir Hospital for treatment.[break]



Radiologists say most of equipment at the department are obsolete and not in use. “We have drawn attention of the administration several times, but they do not show any seriousness,” chief of the Radiology Department Dr K B Rawal said adding, "We are compelled to take harsh steps to pressure the administration.”



The CT-Scan machine at the hospital remains defunct for the past six months. Fluoroscopy machine is not in use since three years. Likewise, Chest X-ray machine, Portable X- ray machine and X- ray machine at the emergency also remain defunct.



“A small clinic possesses more equipment than our hospital. Patients have to wait for hours for services,” he added. 



The Department also says that a few equipment which are in operation are also old-fashioned. Dozens of resident doctors studying under National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) are also deprived of knowledge about modern radiology equipment, a department official said.



The resident doctors and staffers of the department submitted a memorandum to NAMS a week ago demanding replacement of the old equipment with new ones.



“Most of the equipment at the Radiology Departments are about 15 years old. I have also drawn the attention of NAMS about the problems,” Bir Hospital Director Dr Bulanda Thapa said.



He admitted that most of the demands of the staffers and resident doctors are genuine. He requested to the agitating staffers and doctors to resume services.



“We are serious about the problems of the Radiology department. Students have been deprived from learning,” NAMS Registrar Dr Mukunda Panthi said.



He said NAMS has promised the agitating doctors that the defunct machines would be repared within a week. “We have also approached to the Logistics Management Division (LMD) for new equipment,” he said. Dr Panthi said he hoped that the services at the department will resume Monday.

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