RAHIM YAR KHAN: The CT scan machine at the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) has been dysfunctional for the last one week and the patients are allegedly being referred to get their CT scans from private hospitals at a heavy cost.

According to sources in the SZMCH radiology department, the CT scan machine had been installed at the end of 2006.

The machine facilitates almost 40 to 60 patients on a daily basis. Sources say during the last 12 years, the machine used to be repaired by its authorised technical engineer.

According to the engineers of the company, the life of the machine was nine to 10 years and it had to be replaced in 2015 but the SZMCH radiology department did not opt for replacement.

In 2017, a technical fault occurred in its software which was rectified by its technician but later its main X-ray tube went out of order.

The parts worth Rs21 million were imported from Holland but the machine could not be made functional by the end of 2017. This situation persisted till mid-2018 and during this time period of more than seven months the patients were forced to get tests from the private CT scan machines at high rates.

Later, the machine was properly repaired again but not replaced with a new one due to unavailability of funds. Now this machine has again been inoperative for the last seven days, causing a great deal of inconvenience to patients.

When contacted Medical Superintendent SZMCH Dr Ghulam Rabbani told Dawn that the machine is out of order for the last four days and [Phillips] technician will arrive on Tuesday (today) to repair it.

He said the machine completed its life in 2015 and “it turns non-functional suddenly. There is need for replacement immediately to cope with heavy load of patients.”

On the other hand, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Chaudhry Aitzaz Anjum raided different parking stands at SZMCH on Monday and arrested two employees of the contractor.

There were many complaints from citizens that the staffers of parking contractor misbehave with people, overcharge them and issue slips without printed fee.

The AC handed over two employees of the contractor to the police and issued warning to the SZMCH administration to eliminate this practice in future.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2019