An endless wait: 1-yr-old with tumour in neck made to wait for MRI scan

Vansh,a resident of Vilaspur in Greater Noida,was first brought to Lok Nayak Hospital in Central Delhi in early August,where the paediatric surgery department referred him for an MRI,with a diagnosis of “6 by 6 cm globular swelling”,accompanied by a written request by the HoD,to “please give an early date” for the carrying out the MRI scan.

The first date given to him was August 23,which was later postponed to August 28. After being made to wait the whole day on August 28,Vansh was given another date,September 14. But on September 14 again,Vansh was turned away as the MRI machine was reportedly under repairs.

“First,they asked us to deposit a sum of Rs 3,000. We told the hospital authorities that we do not have a steady income,but we were told that the investigation could not be done unless the payment was made. We managed to arrange the funds somehow within a short time. But when we came to the hospital on September 14,we were again told that the MRI could not be done,because the machine was not working,” the baby’s mother Pooja said.

Vansh’s parents were told to come back on October 1,for the MRI. However,October 1 saw a flash strike by the resident doctors after a patient’s brother assaulted a doctor at the emergency department on Sunday night. Services were affected,and once again Vansh’s parents were left holding their baby,the door firmly shut on their face.

“We came all the way again for the third time,but were told doctors are not working. They told us to wait to see if the strike would be called off,but after waiting till 5 pm,they have now given us a date for October 16 for the MRI,” Pooja said.

According to senior doctors in the Radiology department,the single MRI machine at the hospital was catering to all departments,performing about 2,000 scans a day.

“There were some technical issues,so we were doing fewer scans,though we never shut down the machine completely. We were taking emergency cases first. But if junior doctors go on a strike,it is not possible for consultants alone to man the machine,so we gave future dates to patients on Monday,” a senior consultant from the Radiology department said.

Earlier,after Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital’s MRI machine had shut down for nearly six months,the hospital had entered into an agreement with private centres in the vicinity,to refer emergency patients for free MRI scans.

“Most of these government hospitals that are referral centres of each zone of the city,have single MRI machines which are worked to its optimum level,considering the volume of patients.

So,these snags are becoming very common,and we have not had new machines installed in years,” a radiologist from GB Pant Hospital said. GTB hospital in East Delhi,has been trying for nearly a year to get its second MRI machine functional.