Sasaram: Lack of trained technicians has rendered advanced medical equipment, worth crores of rupees, useless at the Sasaram Sadar Hospital. Despite being installed over five years ago, these machines remain idle, depriving patients of much-needed medical care.
The equipment, include ECG machines, ultrasonic sensor devices and ventilators. Even their warranty periods have expired.
Civil surgeon, Rohtas, Dr Mani Ranjan, admitted that many critical equipment have been lying unused in the sadar hospital for many years due to shortage of trained technicians. “We have recently requested the state headquarters to provide trained technicians to make these equipment operational,” he said.
In absence of operation of these equipment, the critically ill patients have to seek treatment at private nursing homes or distant medical colleges and hospitals in Patna and Varanasi, alleged the patients.
One Om Prakash Sharma, a trauma patient from Bikramganj, who was admitted to the hospital, was shifted to a private diagnostic centre for an ultrasound, as the facility was unavailable. His younger brother, Rajendra Sharma, an advocate, said that he had to hire a private ambulance to get the test conducted. Similarly, patients requiring ECG tests are referred to private clinics, creating financial and logistic burden on families, particularly those from economically weaker sections, alleged some attendants of the patients.
Fullo Kumar, a resident of Sasaram, alleged that the condition of the trauma centre at the sadar hospital is also poor. He said after an accident, he was diagnosed with fractures in his fingers and ankle. “Instead of being treated at the hospital, he was referred to a higher medical facility,” he alleged.
The ventilators supplied to the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic have a similar tale. Five advanced ventilators, received after the first wave of the pandemic, remain unused due to the absence of trained operators. During the second wave, these machines were temporarily handed over to a private medical college but were returned without ever being used for the patients’ care. The well-equipped ICU has not seen a single patient since its inauguration five years ago.
Deputy superintendent, sadar hospital, Dr Pushkar Anand, said due to non-availability of specialists, the ICU is yet to be made functional.
