Rs 10 crore machine at Safdarjung Hospital’s Neurosurgery dept non-functional for over a year

According to an order issued on August 7, 2024, Dr K B Shankar, head of the Neurosurgery Department, stated that with the DSA machine out of service, relevant procedures could be performed in the Radiology Department until repair work was completed.

In a response to an RTI query filed by one Roshan Singh, Dr Shankar confirmed that while the facility remains functional, “due to various valid reasons communicated to higher administration, we are unable to perform neurointerventional cases”.

This situation persists despite the machine being under a Comprehensive Maintenance Contract (CMC) — an agreement covering all aspects of equipment upkeep, including labour, parts, and emergency services. “The DSA machine remains under CMC, with regular inspections conducted at specified intervals. No additional expenditure has been incurred by the Department of Neurosurgery for repair purposes,” said a hospital official.

The hospital also stated that the equipment would become operational soon, as all technical and infrastructural issues have been addressed. “Patients opting for endovascular management are referred to the Department of Neuroradiology, Safdarjung Hospital, which has a separate, fully functional DSA Lab and a team of skilled interventional neuroradiologists. Those who insist on treatment outside Safdarjung Hospital are referred to AIIMS, New Delhi / GB Pant Hospital / GTB Hospital, as appropriate,” it said.

RTI data shows that the first procedure on the neurosurgery department’s DSA machine was conducted on August 11, 2020, and the last on June 6, 2024. In total, only 116 procedures were carried out over nearly four years — 90 therapeutic and 26 diagnostic cases. This output is significantly lower than that of the Radiology Department’s DSA machine that also serves departments of Gynaecology, ENT, and Neurology. According to sources in the Radiology Department, their DSA unit performs around 15 cases per day.

For patients admitted with neurovascular disorders, the hospital says, open surgical management is offered as an alternative. The hospital maintains that the outcomes of open surgical procedures are comparable to those of endovascular interventions.

“Patients opting for endovascular management are referred to the Department of Neuroradiology, which has a separate, fully functional DSA lab. Those who insist on treatment outside Safdarjung Hospital are referred to AIIMS New Delhi,GB Pant Hospital or GTB Hospital,” said the hospital official.

However, a senior doctor, on condition of anonymity, said that open surgical management cannot be done with similar outcome in a lot of vascular diseases of the brain, for which endovascular methods remain the treatment of choice.

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