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No diagnostic facilities at PMC hospitals, ultrasound overburdened
Patients visiting PMC-run hospitals are forced to run from pillar to post due to lack of diagnostic equipment, shortage of technical personnel
Pune: Patients visiting Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)-run hospitals are forced to run from pillar to post due to lack of diagnostic equipment, shortage of technical personnel, and/or time constraints to the extent that many of them opt for private diagnostic centres and end up paying out of their pockets for various services.
The PMC health department has one general hospital and one infectious diseases’ hospital along with 18 maternity homes and 41 dispensaries. However, none of the PMC-run facilities has its own diagnostic centre that can provide free tests such as CT scans and MRIs. The five ultrasound machines across 15 maternity homes are not fully functional whereas in about five maternity homes, the machines are either not working or have been kept closed due to lack of staff. This leads to delays in addition to putting pressure on other hospitals.
The Kamala Nehru Hospital (KNH) which has the highest number of footfalls being the only PMC-run general hospital, is overloaded with sonography tests. As a result, expecting mothers have to wait for more than two weeks for imaging services. Furthermore, the PMC has only one X-Ray facility for the population of the entire city at its Gadi Khana hospital.
An expecting mother on condition of anonymity said, “I visited the KNH hospital and the doctors suggested I get an ultrasound test done. When I went to the sonography centre, the staff informed me that there is a huge waiting list and that the next appointment will be given after 15 days. However, there is another facility in the hospital premises which is outsourced by the PMC which is chargeable.”
Patients who require an ultrasound test have to visit the KNH three times: the first time to register their name and get the date for the test, the second time for the test, and the third time to collect the reports. The waiting period for a normal abdomen ultrasound test is around 15 days, which is a long time for patients.
Ironically, the PMC has four hospitals namely KNH, Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, Pote Hospital and Sutar Hospital with ultrasound, CT scan and MRI facilities. All these facilities are outsourced by the PMC, forcing patients to pay from their pockets to get the tests done. Although the PMC claims that the diagnostic charges are less than CGHS rates, activists claim that the diagnostic facilities have been intentionally outsourced so that patients have to pay.
Sharad Shetty, a health activist, claimed the existence of a nexus and that people in the administration and the elected members both have a vested interest in outsourcing the diagnostic centres. “The tenders are awarded to firms that have good networks in the PMC administration and are politically connected. All these centres are located strategically within the PMC hospital campus and patients are directed to these centres,” Shetty claimed.
Another patient who visited the KNH said that despite going to the hospital with an elected member’s reference, there was a long queue for the ultrasound test and he had to wait for over half-an-hour after which the officials told him that the waiting period for the ultrasound was 10 days. “We wanted to get the test done on priority and could not wait for 10 days. Finally, we spent money and went to a private facility inside the hospital campus and got the tests done. The PMC hospital is only giving free drugs and consulting, and the expensive diagnostic facilities are not available for free,” the patient said.
Health activist Dr Sanjay Dabhade said that there is a lack of political will. “The PMC should appoint qualified doctors and install the machines. The PMC can buy the machines easily and that is not a problem for the civic body but no efforts are made towards it. The civic body has come up with an easy solution to outsource the centres. The outsourcing is mutually and financially beneficial for the politicos and the people in the PMC administration,” he alleged.
Dr Bhagwan Pawar, health officer of the PMC, assured that he would look into the issue and find a solution for the problem. “We are in talks with corporate companies to donate to us machines for the CT scan tests, which will be installed at the PMC-run hospital. The process of recruitment of radiologists will be carried out by us to provide some relief to the patients,” he said.
