Critically-ill cancer patients visiting SSKM Hospital for immediate radiotherapy are being turned away.

Reason: the cobalt machine used for the treatment has been lying defunct since July 13. The hospital authorities and doctors blame procedural lapses for the delay in repairing the machine.

Sources said the hospital has had to turn away as many as 50 patients daily, who flock to the other state-run hospitals that are already stretched with limited resources and infrastructure.

The crisis has been compounded by another cobalt radiotherapy machine, at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, lying inoperative for the past seven months.

A victim of this state of inaction is 72-year-old Dharanikanta Chakraborty, who was referred to SSKM Hospital for radiotherapy after being diagnosed with prostrate cancer.

?My father needed immediate radiotherapy and we went to SSKM Hospital, where we were told to go elsewhere. Now, we are being forced to move from one hospital to another with the aged man,? said Ranjan Chakraborty, a resident of Ramrajatala, Howrah.

Doctors at SSKM noticed on July 13 that the automatic precision timer of the cobalt machine was not functioning.

?Attendants had to manually use the emergency button to administer radiotherapy. We immediately notified the authorities,? said Anup Majumder, professor and head of the radiotherapy department.

The authorities had approached the state health directorate for funds to repair or replace the timer, as it was not covered by an annual maintenance contract with the manufacturer.

Similar is the situation at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. ?Ten letters have been sent to the health directorate in the past seven months. But nothing happened. We are being forced to send cancer patients to Calcutta hospitals,? said Subir Ganguly, head of the radiotherapy department.

A doctor at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital said: ?Resources are limited, so are radiotherapy machines. Each hospital in the city is handling patients beyond its capacity. So when patients from Burdwan or SSKM are referred to us, we cannot but tell them to wait. The patients are the ultimate sufferers.?

Majumder of SSKM Hospital said the authorities were trying their best to treat as many patients as possible. ?At least 100 outdoor patients are being administered radiotherapy at our department daily. Nearly half of them are cancer-afflicted.?

Medical superintendent and vice-principal Santanu Tripathi said: ?We are making efforts to tide over the crisis. The situation will improve soon.?