Healthcare is under scanner at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.

The lone X-ray machine, which radiation inspectors had left unsealed while clamping down on others for want of licences earlier this month, went kaput on Thursday, leaving patients in the lurch and prompting hospital authorities to scout for stopgap measures.

Ganesh Prasad of Hatia stood in a long queue on Friday with elder brother Brajesh Prasad who had met with an accident and needed an X-ray on his right leg. "We heard a new machine has been launched after the old one broke down yesterday, but the queue is making us impatient. Maybe, we will go to a private clinic," he said.

Girija Singh from Angara, whose son Sohan Kumar had sustained leg injuries, decided to leave for the day. Afsana Parveen of Hazaribagh sat on a chair with a fractured leg till 11am before she could convince her husband to get an X-ray done elsewhere.

Similarly, more than 200 patients, waiting for their turns for X-ray from 10am, were inconvenienced on Friday.

Dr Ramesh Kumar Srivastava, professor of pathology, confirmed "a technical snag" while officiating in place of RIMS director Dr B.L. Sherwal who is out of station. "We have summoned engineers from Calcutta and expect repairs to be done by tomorrow (Saturday)," Srivastava said.

The X-Ray clinic at RIMS had seven machines, six of them portable and the seventh large, fixed and obsolete. On November 9, a team from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) sealed three machines, including the fixed one. It excused one portable X-ray for patient convenience while the remaining three had snags since procurement and were never used.

Insiders at RIMS said that the lone portable machine, under operation since the others were sealed, was under duress and a snag was expected. "As back-up, we had readied one of the four newly procured X-ray machines," said an assistant professor in the radiology wing.

On the license status of both the new and old machines, Dr Srivastava said, "We had applied online the same week when the AERB team had visited. We are expecting certification soon."

An AERB scientist, who was part of the inspection team, confirmed receiving the application from RIMS. "Document verification is underway. Since the hospital wants old machines to resume operations as well, a quality assurance test is a must. An accredited agency will do the needful within a week. Once safety features are approved, a temporary certificate will be issued. Permanent licence will be given after an elaborate verification and quality check process," he said.

The AERB inspector added that if RIMS had its documents in order, it would take far lesser time to issue permanent certification for its old machines.