Sans radiologist, CT scan machine at Ambala City hospital lies unused

Nitish Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Ambala, June 11

A CT scan machine worth Rs 2.64 crore is lying unused in the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, in the absence of a radiologist. The machine was installed in September, 2015.

Earlier this year, the Health Department had planned to provide the facility on the PPP mode but service providers did not agree to the conditions of the department.

Sources say two service providers had approached the department but they wanted to provide services for a couple of hours every day and were also not ready to prepare medico-legal reports.

Since the National Highway-1 and the Chandigarh-Hisar highway pass through Ambala, a large number of accident cases are reported at the Civil Hospital every month. Though there is a CT scan machine there, local doctors have to refer more than 150 accident cases to the PGI in Chandigarh for CT scan every month.

No qualified radiologist has been appointed in the hospital for the past many years. Following repeated requests for a radiologist after the CT scan machine was installed in the hospital, orders were issued to send a doctor on deputation and a couple of doctors were transferred to Ambala but none joined duty.

Meanwhile, health officials are concerned about the condition of the machine, as it hasn’t been operated even once after installation. An official says since government doctors are not joining duty even after being transferred and posted on deputation to Ambala, local health officials approached private radiologists but no one agreed to operate the machine.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Vinod Gupta says, “Service providers are not ready to work 24 hours a day and are also not ready to handle MLR cases, while both these are required in a government hospital. A service provider, who will provide CT scan and MRI services in the Ambala Cantonment Civil Hospital, has shown interest in operating the CT scan machine in Ambala City too. The matter is under consideration and it will be taken up with Health Minister Anil Vij soon”.