Patients suffer as DHQ hospital’s CT scan machine malfunctions

Patients arriving in the garrison city’s largest trauma centre are facing immense difficulties as the computed tomography (CT) scan machine of the hospital has been out of order for the past 12 days.

According to sources, the patients arriving at the District Head Quarters (DHQ) hospital with serious injuries are being referred to other hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital (HFH) and Benazir Bhutto General Hospital (BBH), for imaging purposes.

Sources said the CT scan machines installed in both of these hospitals are already overburdened due to the increasing number of patients arriving there for medical treatment. They added that due to this the treatment process for the patients was getting delayed, leaving them in a difficult situation.

“Due to this, the CT scans of the critically ill patients being brought from the DHQ hospital are getting delayed and as a result, they are facing a painful situation.”

When contacted, DHQ hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Farzana Zafar stated: “The CT scan machine had developed a technical fault regarding its functionality which was removed but the fault has occurred again, therefore, new spare parts are being procured from Lahore”.

The medical superintendent said until the CT scan machine is operational, the scans of patients will continue to be performed at the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital and the Holy Family Hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2023.