ISLAMABAD: The lithotripter at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) was made functional on Saturday after a period of five years.

“The lithotripter was installed in 2013, but it became out of order after just six months. I have just spent Rs700,000 on the machine, as that also needed overhauling, and it has now become possible for patients to avail treatment at lower prices,” Pims Executive Director Dr Raja Amjad told Dawn.

A lithotripter uses shockwaves to shatter kidney stones and gallstones. A lithotripsy procedure is carried out to remove kidney stones using lasers.

Dr Amjad said a company has been awarded a repairs and maintenance contract to keep the machine operational for another five years.

“Now patients with kidney stones will be treated with lasers without going for operations,” he added.

A senior doctor from the hospital who asked not to be named said it was unfortunate that when machines were either deliberately damaged or became dysfunctional managements did not have them repaired.

He claimed this was because senior doctors had private hospitals or had MRI and CT scan machines or polymerase chain reaction and other tests at private laboratories or clinics.

“Staff at government hospitals tell patients the machine at the hospital is out of order, and suggest they have the test done at a private clinic,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that staff at government hospitals not only provide them with contact numbers for private clinics but also tell them the senior doctor will not consider reports from any other private laboratories. The fact is that the senior doctor sitting in the government hospital owns the laboratory, hospital or diagnostic centre,” he said.

He added: “If a patient gets tested from a private diagnostic centre of his choice, a number of times senior doctors tell the patient he doesn’t trust the report and he should get tested from a credible diagnostic centre without telling him he is the owner of the centre.”

The doctor claimed a “very senior and famous doctor of the twin cities” routinely suggested his patients undergo endoscopies.

“He also suggests they have endoscopies from a specific clinic without telling them his wife runs that clinic.

“Such government doctors have made it a business and they even want to stay at government hospitals after retirement before government hospitals are nurseries for their private clinics. There are a number of precedents in which senior doctors after retirement ask to be allowed to work for free,” he said.

In response to a question, Dr Amjad said it was unfortunate that the former management had not had the lithotripter repaired.

“A lithotripsy at private clinics costs Rs18,000, but at Pims private patients will be able to get themselves tested for Rs5,000. Entitled patients will receive free treatment. As many as 18 tests will be done every day as each test takes around half an hour,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018