NEW DELHI: The GB Pant Hospital, renowned for its treatment of cardiology and neurological ailments in the national capital, has encountered a significant setback. Their CT scan machines have been non-functional for nearly 10 months, causing distress among patients. Those in critical condition are being redirected to the LNJP Hospital nearby, where they endure lengthy waits for a procedure that typically lasts five minutes.
Stating his ordeal anonymously with PTI, a patient’s relative recounted how his father, initially treated at Hedgewar and GTB hospitals in east Delhi after a heart attack on April 1, was referred to GB Pant Hospital for a CT scan.
“Since the machines at the hospital were out of order, I was asked to take my father to the nearby LNJP Hospital. We were asked to get the CT scan done at 10 am but the LNJP Hospital staff asked us to come at 4 pm. Such a long time can prove fatal for an emergency patient,” he said.
A woman who took her 62-year-old mother to the hospital after she suffered a heart attack told PTI, “I am taking my mother to the hospital after she suffered a heart attack. On March 21, she was brought to the ‘Emergency’ department of the hospital, where after giving first aid, she was immediately asked to undergo a CT scan.
“We were told that both the CT scan machines in the hospital are out of order. We were asked to take the patient to a nearby hospital. But since it would have taken too much time, I got my mother’s CT scan done at a private centre located in the Model Town area, which cost us Rs 18,500,” she said.
In the entire GB Pant Hospital, only ‘A’ and ‘D’ blocks house CT scan machines, both of which have been non-functional for about 10 months. Dr Kalpana Bansal, associate professor, Department of Radiology at the GB Pant Hospital told PTI that one machine has been out of order since last February-March. The process of purchasing a new machine in place of the other machine which has been out of order since June last year, is almost complete, she said, adding that the machine is likely to be brought to the hospital by July-August.
A senior officer of the Radiology Department confirmed this and further said on the condition of anonymity that due to repeated cancellation of the tender for the second machine, its procurement is getting delayed. A senior official of the technical department of the LNJP Hospital told PTI that on normal days, the number of patients coming to the hospital for CT scan ranges from 125 to 130 per day, which sometimes crosses 200. Out of these, the number of patients coming from the GB Pant Hospital is around 40, which sometimes reaches 60, he said.
Sources said that even at the LNJP Hospital, only one of the two CT scan machines are working. On the condition of anonymity, an official said that for the last four months, about 1,500 patients have been coming here every month from the GB Pant Hospital for CT scan.
He said that the CT scans of patients admitted in the wards of the LNJP Hospital, patients coming from the GB Pant Hospital and patients of the Deendayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital as well as inmates are also done here.
A GB Pant Hospital official said that both these machines, which were brought to the hospital in 2011, are quite old and it is difficult to procure parts. Since parts are expensive, a new machine has been ordered. He said the machine imported from Germany will be installed in the hospital by August.
On the issue of problems faced by the patients, he said, “We have been managing the work somehow for the last few months and are trying our best to ensure that the patients do not face any kind of problem.”
In response to a question regarding emergency patients and their CT scans, Dr Amit Srivastava, director and senior consultant (neurology) at the Dharamshila Narayana Super Specialty Hospital, Delhi, said that a brain stroke patient should be brought to the hospital as soon as possible. After that, the CT scan takes only five minutes.