Patients are deprived of proper services due to disarrayed system and lack of basic infrastructures at the Radiology and Imaging Department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Three x-ray machines worth Tk 3 crore have been lying damaged at the department for the last one year causing immense suffering to the patients.
Expired chemical and x-ray film are used at the department though huge some of money is received from the patients against those; but the authorities are keeping mum about the anomalies.
Visiting the department, “The Independent” correspondent found that among the six x-ray rooms, only two remain open for the patients while one is used as report section and three others remain locked compelling patients to queue in a long serial.
X-ray machines of the room no 3, 5 and 7 have been lying out of order for the last one year.
As a result, x-rays are done using only two machines, with which it is so tough for the staff to cope with around 1,500 patients every day.
On the other hand, the department delivers x-ray report after two or three days while the outside hospitals issue the same within two or three hours.
Sometimes, x-ray pictures found opaque while the reports carry faulty information.
The department sources said x-ray chemical and film’s validity expired many days ago, which were given by the government in 2010 but those are still used.
Even the invalid x-ray films are also used in the hospital’s emergency ward and to use those films the hospital authority has sent six hundred packets of x-ray films to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) recently.
DMCH doctor Dr Amirul said, “If invalid chemical and films are used in x-ray the pictures come out in shadowy condition which makes the doctor confused as to what decision he or she should take.”
Dr Amir also said, “As expired x-ray chemical and films give vague pictures, the doctors in serious cases send the patients to do x-ray again but x-ray in the same place of the body several times is also harmful for health as it damages blood cells.”
“The Independent” in an investigation found that former DMCH director Brigadier General Bazle Kader during his service brought three damaged x-ray machines from Simence Company throw tender.
He and 19 more officials of the hospital are accused in a case filed for graft in the purchase of the machines, filed by Anti- Corruption Commission.
Since then, the machines have been laying down at the department in a damaged condition. Technologist Abdus Salam told “The Independent”, “Among the three machines, one needs only Tk 1.5 lakh for repair and the rest two need only Tk 5 lakh.”
Asked about the poor condition of the Radiology and Imaging Department, Departmental, its head Associate Professor M A Noman Chowdhury said, “I have joined in the department recently and after learning all problems I would take necessary steps.”
About the delay in delivering reports, Noman said, “At present, we have shortage of doctors, technologists and workers and for this reason the report delivery takes additional time sometimes.”
DMCH director Brigadier General Shahidul Haque Mallik said, “We have already sent draft to machine provider Simence Company to repair those three machines and hope that those will be repaired within a short time.”
-With The Independent input
