Mumbai: Congress legislator Amin Patel on Thursday urged the government to address the shortage of medicines at state-run JJ Hospital. The MLA, in whose constituency the hospital is situated, also asked the state to purchase additional MRI, CT scan machines so that patients do not have to wait for long periods.
It was the second time in four months that the legislator had raised the issue in the assembly.
Shortage impacting 3000-4000 patients: Patel
Patel said there was a huge shortage of medicines in the hospital, affecting 3,000 to 4,000 patients at the outpatient department.
The situation is of grave concern as most of the patients coming to the hospital are from economically weaker backgrounds, he said. Some don’t have enough money to buy medicines and are entirely dependent on the hospital, the MLA said.
“Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan had assured that there would be no shortage of medicines in the hospital. He was supposed to give permission to the hospital to buy 30% of medicine stocks, but is yet to do so,” he told the assembly.
Doctors at JJ ask around 300 patients to get MRI and CT scans per day, Patel said. But only 15 to 20 scans can be done per day, which means a patient has to wait 10 to 15 days or more than a month for an appointment,” he said.
Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple was unavailable for comment.
