Mumbai: Patients at civic-run hospitals are facing many hurdles due to the unavailability of Computed tomography (CT) machines forcing them to visit private center's for the test. However, the hospital administration claimed they refer patients to Sir JJ Hospital or NM medical canter for the same.
Patients irked by faulty CT Scan Machines
Shweta Singh, 27, sustained an injury on June 16 when she fell from a running bus while de-boarding. She was rushed to the civic-run hospital, BYL Nair Hospital. After she was admitted, Singh was immediately advised for a CT scan of her brain.
But to her surprise, the doctors informed her she would have to travel 4km to a diagnostic centre for the scan. “My head was badly hurt after and a CT scan was advised but the machine was not functional at the hospital,” Singh said.
Considering the saddening state of the hospital, she took Discharge Against the Doctor’s Advice (DAMA) and was later admitted to a private hospital. “If a major hospital like Nair doesn’t have this facility then how would they treat patients?” she asked.
Department under renovation
When the Free Press Journal reporter visited the hospital it was learnt that the department is under renovation due to which patients are directed to private centers in Dadar or nearby depending on the tie-up with the doctors or hospital administration. The King Edward Memorial Hospital in Parel has two CT scan machines, of which one is non-functional for a year and another has a technical fault due to which it is not working currently. However, over the years the problem persists and the administration puts the blame on the extra load of patients.
According to the sources, the hospital administration and department head are not paying heed to the inconveniences.
Uniform charges for CT scan
“Despite the order passed by the BMC that private centers such as NM medicals should charge the same rate as civic hospitals does for CT scan but still doctors direct patients to private scanning centres where their commission is fixed. The cost of this test is ₹1,000 to ₹1,200 in the BMC hospital while the same test costs ₹3,000-₹4,000 at private centres,” said a doctor on condition of anonymity.
Dr Mohan Joshi, the dean of Sion Hospital, said they will be installing one more machine. Earlier, the hospital would conduct 150 tests per day which have now come down to 80.
Meanwhile, this year, the BMC sanctioned ₹120 crore for new MRI and CT scan machines at KEM, Nair and Sion hospitals.
