The next time patients at Patna Medical College and Hospital find the standard of treatment falling short of its stature, they know who to blame. The high court knows it too.
A total of 151 machines are non-functional at the health hub according to a report the hospital administration submitted in Patna High Court on December 22, 2014.
The administration was asked to provide status of the machines after a PIL was filed in the court.
Although sources said the hospital has claimed the problem lies in hardware, steps have never been taken to repair the machines some of which are out of use since 2008.
The hospital administration has been directed to present another report in the court on January 16.
'The funniest part of the report submitted by the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) in Patna High Court is that it states most of the machines are non-functional because of some hardware problem that needs to be repaired. In some of the cases, the hospital administration has also reasoned that the machines are out of use because of lack of reagents and kits. What has prevented the hospital administration to repair the machines has not been explained in the report,' said a source.
Among the machines out of order at the state's premier government medical college and hospital include a continuous renal replacement therapy machine (used for dialysis of patients with low blood pressure and cardiac problems), infusion pumps (used to deliver fluids or medication when a patient is unable to eat anything), ventilators for infants aged up to two months and mammography instrument. At present, 276 machines are functional at the hospital.
Sources said the matter has come to such a pass because the hospital has not follow norms of the annual maintenance contract.
'The hospital paid middlemen instead of the parent company. The money might not be reaching the right hands and the companies have not bothered to look after the maintenance of the machines,' said a source.
Deputy superintendent of the hospital Sudhanshu Singh, however, defended the administration.
'Around 25 of the 151 non-functional machines are more than 10 years old. The norms state machines unfit for use are to be first declared condemned by the condemnation committee, including doctors and officials of the company supplying the machine concerned. They are then put up for auction but this process has not been followed at the hospital for a long time because of which the number of such machines has increased.'
The doctors inconvenienced at work are far from pleased. 'Several of the non-functional machines are worth around Rs 10-15 lakh but the hospital administration did not find it necessary to repair them. For example, the only MARS (molecular adsorbent recirculating system) machine that provides liver support during dialysis is out of order for a long time because of lack of components, including reagents. Why has the hospital administration not been able to arrange for the kit? This needs to be probed,' said a senior doctor in the medicine department.
Another senior doctor in the paediatrics department said on the condition of anonymity: 'Only two of the 21 infusion pumps available in the paediatric intensive care unit are working. We face a lot of problems because of this. Infusion pumps help us provide the infants fluids or medication in low doses when they cannot eat. Because of the limited number of infusion pumps, we are forced to treat patients with intravenous fluid support. However, it's a crude method because infusion of large volumes of intravenous fluids can lead to problems in certain cases. The infusion pumps, instead, help in precise regulation of fluid.'
Members of medical associations also criticised the PMCH administration for failing to repair the machines on time. 'The hospital was earlier known as a pioneer health hub but today, it is ailing because of anarchy in the administration and lack of political will,' said Dr Ranjeet Kumar, spokesperson, Bihar Health Services Association.
On Record
Some of the defunct machines at PMCH according to the report submitted in the high court
Continuous renal replacement therapy machine in nephrology department: 3
Haemodialysis machine in nephrology department: 5
Liver-kidney machine in nephrology department: 1
Multi-parameter monitor in nephrology department: 3
Reverse osmosis plant: 1
Infusion pump in paediatrics intensive care unit: 19
Electrocardiogram (ECG) machine in ICU: 2
Ventilator in obstetrics and gynaecology department: 2
Anaesthesia machine in operating theatre: 1
