Patna Medical College and Hospital’s failure to ensure emergency treatment for the recent Chhath tragedy victims has proved that it has not learnt lessons from similar disasters in the past.
On July 17, 2000, Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) authorities had to re-fer the few survivors of a pla-ne crash to private hospitals because the premier health hub in the state did not have a burnt ward. An Alliance Air flight, which had taken off from Calcutta was on its way to Delhi via Patna and Lucknow when it crashed in Patna, killing around 60 people. History repeated itself on November 19 this year when a huge number of Chhath revellers, injured in a stampede at Adalat Ghat, turned up at PMCH for treatment but had to be shifted to private hospitals, as the state-run hospital did not have necessary facilities to tackle disaster of such a magnitude.
As far as handling emergency situations is concerned, PMCH is handicapped by poor infrastructure. Sources in the hospital said the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine was defunct for quite some time. Dr Vimal Mukesh, attached with the surgery department of PMCH, admitted that the hospital could not even provide its patients with basic MRI test facilities.
“The MRI machine is not working for two years. Patients are forced to get their tests done elsewhere. Doctors often prescribe MRI tests in cases of road accidents. It is a very important equipment for any hospital,” he said.
The situation in Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) is in no way different with the health hub not even having the CT scan facility. “Computed tomography (CT) scan machine is a basic facility for any hospital. This shows the careless attitude of the authorities,” a source in the hospital said. IGIMS director Dr Arun Kumar admitted that the CT scan machine was not functioning.
Nalanda Medical College and Hospital also lacks basic facilities like CT scan facilities. “The machine is not working at our hospital for a few months,” superintendent Dr Shiv Kumari Prasad said.
