Ultrasound machine lies defunct at Nurpur hospital

Rajiv Mahajan

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Nurpur, November 14

The ultrasound machine installed at the 200-bedded Nurpur Civil Hospital has been lying non-functional for the past two years after the transfer of the radiologist.

Patients from Nurpur, Indora, Jawali, Fatehpur and Bhattiyat Assembly constituencies are a harried lot. They are facing problems in getting their tests done at this specialty hospital.

The state Health Department has failed to post a radiologist here or make an alternative arrangement, forcing the patients to spend hefty amounts for their tests at private laboratories in Pathankot, Jassur and Nurpur.

The ultrasound test at government hospitals is free of cost whereas the private laboratories charge Rs 800. Apart from this, the patients have to bear the travelling expenses.

Pregnant women, who have to undergo such examinations, are the worst sufferers. Under the centrally sponsored Janani Shishu Suraksha Programme, all clinical tests, including the ultrasound of expectant mothers, are free of cost. The programme has been badly affected due to the vacant post of the radiologist in the hospital. Expectant mothers are forced to bear the high cost of ultrasound tests in private clinics.

The residents have demanded that a regular radiologist be posted at the hospital. They have urged the authorities to at least make a temporary arrangement of a radiologist on deputation twice or thrice a week.

Medical Superintendent at the hospital Dr Neerja Gupta said she had written to the higher authorities regarding the vacant posts of the radiologist and other specialists in the hospital. Admitting the shortage of radiologists in the state, she said, “The government had offered a six-month special training in radiology to MBBS doctors serving at government hospitals, but none of the doctors posted at the Nurpur Civil Hospital opted for the training,” she added.

Enquiries reveal that for the past few years, the post of the radiologist and radiographer have been lying vacant in the Jawali Civil Hospital too and the ultrasound tests have been discontinued at the hospital now.

At receiving end

Pregnant women, who have to undergo such examinations, are the worst sufferers. Patients who have to undergo emergency ultrasound scanning are also adversely affected as they have to waste their time and money to get the test done at private clinics or laboratories.