7 months to fix key medical equipment?
Tuli Chowdhury (not her real name) recently went to a gynaecologist, who advised her to undergo breast screening. Tuli had heard that Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) charges much lower for the test than private diagnostic centres.
"I'd heard that screening fee for single breast is Tk 400, and for both it's Tk 800 at CMCH, but the cost is Tk 1,500 and Tk 3,000, respectively, at private diagnostic centres," Tuli told this correspondent.
And so, she went there on Sunday, but to her utter frustration, she found that the service was not available, as the mammography machine was out of order.
Just like Tuli, many others have been deprived of the service at CMCH for the last seven months, because the machine was non-functional for that long. Patients admitted at the hospital also had to avail the test from outside.
This expensive machine, used for screening breasts for tumours and cancer, went out of order in October last year, and was just repaired on Wednesday. Hospital sources said, the service resumed yesterday.
But the big question is, why would such an essential machine remain out of order for seven whole months?
It is worth noting that this is not the first time the machine became non-functional, putting a stop to services.
According to hospital sources, the machine has hardly ever been operational for six months at a stretch since installation at the department on August 6, 2018.
Earlier, the brand-new unit sat idle for around one and a half years, due to complications centring installation, said sources, adding that the Tk 1.16 crore machine was bought from Italy in 2016, but was installed two years later.
Contacted, Prof Subas Majumder, head of CMCH's radiology and imaging department, said they want the machine to be always operational, but it could not be possible due to technical glitches.
"The non-cooperative attitude of the distribution company is mainly liable for it," he said. "Whenever any technical glitch occurs, we inform them but cannot get prompt response."
"According to warranty conditions, only engineers from the company can check and address technical glitches," he added.
The company, however, does not agree with the hospital's claims.
Contacted, MK Mohanta, consultant of NewTech GT Limited, the distribution company, denied the allegations of not responding promptly.
"Whenever we received letters from CMCH, we responded immediately, and sent engineers to resolve the problem."
About the delay in this time, he said a component of the machine went out of order. "The component is not available in the country, and so, we had to import it. As the pandemic is ongoing worldwide, we got it later than usual. Moreover, our engineers could not rush to Chattogram immediately after getting the part due to the lockdown."
Echoing Mohanta, Kamal Krishna Majumdar, an engineer of the company, said he worked on the machine for three days and fixed it.
Asked why the machine breaks down frequently, he said there are some problems, including fluctuating voltage, and a technically-sound individual must operate the unit.
While the two parties are shifting blame on each other, many patients and civil society members alleged that some hospital staffers do not want the machine to be operational all the time, as they have an "unholy alliance" with private diagnostic centres.
"Technical glitches are common for machines, but that cannot be an excuse for a vital test to remain halted for months at a government hospital," said SM Nazer Hossain, central vice president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh. "In private diagnostic centres, technical glitches are addressed within days, but they cannot do it in seven months at a government hospital, which is totally unacceptable."
"Actually, there is an unholy alliance between diagnostic centres and a section of staffers at government hospitals. If a vital test is available at a cheaper cost at government hospitals, people would be uninterested to go to the diagnostic centres," he said. "So, those staffers do not properly maintain the machines at government hospitals."
"There is a lack of monitoring. When we speak against irregularities, we have to face the wrath of the influential syndicate," said Nazer, without mentioning further details about the syndicate.
Contacted, CMCH Director Brig Gen SM Humayun Kabir brushed aside the allegation.
"We got the unit from Central Medical Store Depot [CMSD], which has an agreement with the distribution company for maintaining the machine," he said. "When any technical glitch occurs, we write to CMSD, and they contact the distributor, so it is a long process."
"When we directly contact the distributor, they say due to the agreement, they would come to address the glitch only when CMSD asks them to," he added.
"After much persuasion, engineers from the company came on Monday to fix the issue," said the CMCH director.
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