Cancer patients in crisis
The hospital does not have any post for biomedical engineers, so it's very difficult to maintain the expensive and essential machines.
The lone brachytherapy machine at Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has been out of order for over three months, forcing cancer patients to suffer.
Hospital authorities said due to complications over paying instalments for the machine, the local supplier company is not providing any service despite repeated requests.
On the other hand, the company said it cannot do anything until Eckert and Ziegler BEBIG -- the mother company of the machine situated in Germany, gives it an order.
Ultimately, the patients, especially those suffering from cervical cancer, are bearing the brunt of this tangle.
The machine, used for brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy, went out of order on June 6, said ward sources.
Brachytherapy service started at CMCH's radiotherapy ward in May, 2019. According to sources, this service is unavailable at any other hospital in the greater Chattogram region. So apart from patients in Chattogram district, those from adjacent districts, including Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Noakhali and Feni, rush to CMCH for this treatment.
According to ward sources, around 2,500 women are treated at the ward each year; 30 percent of them suffer from cervical cancer.
According to cancer specialists, around 90 percent of cervical cancer patients will need brachytherapy at some point.
Contacted, Prof Sazzad Mohammad Yousuf, head of the ward, said "We had contacted the local supplier, but they said they have some issues over payment of the machine's instalments."
"The hospital does not have any post for biomedical engineers, so it's very difficult to maintain the expensive and essential machines," he said.
Contacted, CMCH Director Brig Gen Shamim Ahsan said Central Medical Store Depot (CMSD) allocated the machine for CMCH. "We have informed the matter to CMSD authorities in writing."
"I have also contacted the supplier several times," he said. "They said they have issues over payment. We are continuing to discuss the matter."
"I have also contacted the health ministry. The ministry officials said we will get a new machine next year," he added.
However, the director could not say when patients would be able to avail the service again.
Contacted, SM Shafiquzzaman, chief executive of Projukti International, the local supplier, said Eckert and Ziegler BEBIG has not yet received payment for the machine.
"We cannot do any maintenance until the mother company asks us to do so," he said.
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