Super-specialty,minus basic facilities

At GTB,the driver was in for another set of hurdles. Doctors told him they don’t have equipment to conduct a brain MRI scan on his son — the only way to throw more light on the problem.

He has been referred to a nearby mental health institute,which conducts a MRI scan for Rs 2,000,an amount that is too steep for the father who gets Rs 7,000 as monthly salary.

“The (other) institute offers free service also,but it has a 15-day waiting period. My son suffered two seizures in the last 10 days. What if my son suffers another seizure during this time?” says the father. The time slot for the “free service” at the institute is odd — between 11 pm and 1 am.

The GTB Hospital caters to nearly 22 lakh residents of Northeast Delhi,along with patients who come in from other parts of the city and across the country.

Between 1987 and 2011,the hospital added 1,200 beds,taking the count up from 300 to 1,500. In less than half that time,the population of Northeast Delhi grew by nearly 8.61 lakh,according to preliminary findings of Census 2011.

The hospital is short of some of the most basic medical equipment. It has only one machine for CT scan and four for ultrasound. There are 12 X-ray machines of various types.

Government calls the hospital a super-specialty centre,but the facility does not have cardiology,cardiac and nephrology departments,or a dedicated trauma block.

A senior doctor,on the condition of anonymity,said emergency cases are handled by casualty medical officers,and the patients are then referred to GB Pant Hospital in Central Delhi.

Red tape has worsened the shortage. Hospital sources say at least two new pieces of high-end diagnostic equipment have been lying in their stores for almost two years.

A CT scan and a state-of-the-art digital X-ray machine bought in early 2011 are gathering dust as the space to house them is still being created. After the arrangement is complete,the hospital will apply for the mandatory radiation safety clearances from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The hospital administration puts the blame squarely on the company in-charge of the installation.

Hospital’s Medical Superintendent,Dr Rajpal,who is also the head of the Radiology department,told Newsline,“The CT scan machine would be made operational early this year.”

Till then,the shortage of equipment is compromising health services at the ground level.

While the hospital struggles to accommodate diagnostic tests of admitted patients,for out-patients the waiting time for an ultrasound is anywhere between 20 and 25 days. A case in point is Naseema,wife of a construction worker,who was advised an ultrasound after she complained of severe abdominal pain. She has been given a date after 45 days.

Forty-year-old Rizwan has lost sensation in his hands and urgently requires an X-ray of his spine and a brain CT scan. “After waiting for half a day,they gave me an X-ray appointment for the next day,and asked to come for the CT scan a month later,” he says.

Procuring beds at the hospital is another uphill task. Till recently,the Gynecology and Paediatrics wards had at least two patients per bed at most times. The problem eased after the government pumped in nearly Rs 54 crore to construct a 370-bed mother and child block,say doctors. Complete with modular operation theatres,private rooms,round-the-clock sanitation services and hydraulic motorised beds,the block opened in October last year,and seems incongruous to the rest of the hospital.

Doctors,however,are already complaining that 65 beds in the Paediatric department will not solve the problem completely. “They have promised us modular operation theatres and a new ICU,but the bed shortage will not be addressed. In reserving beds for private wards,our department suffers,” says a Paediatrics specialist.