Scuffles between technicians and patients’ attendants at Holy family Hospital have become a routine matter due to the defective machines. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
Almost 60 per cent of the equipment at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) is out of order or needs replacement as the machines are too old to function properly.
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine has been dysfunctional for the past four years, while the X-ray, ECG and artificial respiration machines in the children’s ward are outdated and in dire need of repairs.
“Most of the machines are old and need replacement. We have raised the issue several times, but no steps have been taken to replace them,” said Muhammad Sajid, a technician in the X-ray laboratory.
Scuffles between technicians and patients’ attendants have become a routine matter due to the defective machines.
“The patients hold us responsible for poor or late test results,” he said.
Talking about the MRI machine, a senior doctor told The Express Tribune that the machine, ordered in 1999, was purchased from a German firm in 2001 for $1.4 million.
“It took Rs8.4 million and four years to make the machine functional in 2005,” he added.
He said the machine was installed at the hospital by the then-provincial government and was used for around 600 tests before breaking down on July 9, 2009.
Since then, the machine has been useless. Patients are forced to go to private laboratories for MRIs, where they are charged Rs12,000-15,000 and up to Rs20,000 in private hospitals, whereas they were paying only Rs3,000 at HFH.
“Laboratory owners and HFH doctors who have shares in such facilities are responsible for the state of the machinery,” claimed an attendant at the hospital, adding that it is in their interest to maintain the status-quo.
Meanwhile, The HFH technician further informed that the fluoroscopy machine has been out-of-order for the past eight months, while the rest of the equipment is rusting away and needs replacement.
“A health committee recently approved Rs100 million for equipping the three main government hospitals in Rawalpindi with modern equipment, but nobody knows where the grant has gone,” he asked.
“The orthoscope machine also needs repair. Though huge sums have been paid for procuring and fixing these machines, corrective action has yet to be taken,” he lamented.
When contacted, hospital’s spokesperson Dr Javed Hayat said that a new MRI machine for the hospital has been approved and will be installed within three to four months. “The rest of the machinery is working properly, there is no fault as we maintain and repair everything regularly,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2013.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
The governance of the hospital should develop a fundraising strategy independent of the government. As enough time has already been spent in the blame game and slow moving wheels of bureaucracy, the hospital's leadership should take matters into their own hands. Just sitting around and waiting for things to happen is not going to solve anything.