After the CT Scan machine became defunct, Bir Hospital´s ambulances are used mostly for transporting patients to private hospitals and nursing homes for CT Scan. The hospital does not have CT Scan service for last six months now. [break]
Hospital management admits patients are suffering due to its failure to get the machines repaired. Patients have to pay over 50 percent more for CT Scans in private centers. The hospital is currently sending more than 50 patients to other hospitals for CT Scan every day.
Doctors refer to CT Scan reports to assess the success of treatment apart from diagnosis. The hospital management says the ambulances are carrying patients to private hospitals free of cost but only serious patients get the hospital ambulance. The patients who are not critical have to hire a taxi to go to CT Scan centers.
“We are providing hospital ambulances to transport patients to private centers for CT Scan,” Chief of Radiology Department Dr. K. B Rawal said adding, “The same ambulance brings the patient to the hospital after scanning.”
Dr Rawal said high risks are invovled in sending patients in critical condition outside the hospital. The Neuro Department of the hospital used to send a doctor whenever a patient was sent outside for the scan. Patients have to be given suction to keep them breathing at times and they can even die if a doctor is not immediately available.
The hospital authority says that they cannot bring the CT Scan service into operation soon as they are still unable to contact the supplier of the machinery.
“We have sent a formal letter to the supplier after we failed to contact them but they have not contacted us as yet,” Registrar of National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) Dr Mukunda Panthi said adding, “We cannot predict how long it will take to bring the service back into operation.”
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