NAWABSHAH, Jan 11: The computerised tomography scanner, commonly referred to as CT scan machine, installed in the radiology ward of the People’s Medical College Hospital has been out of order for the past one month, forcing patients to travel to Hyderabad or Karachi to have the scan.

Hundreds of patients from Nawabshah, Naushahro Feroze, Sanghar, Khairpur, Dadu and Matiari districts visit the hospital and an average of 10 cases as well as emergency cases of accidents, nuerosurgery, unconscious patients of eye, ENT, surgery and medicine wards rush to Hyderabad or Karachi or pay huge amount to have the scan carried out at a local private hospital.

The machine had been installed in 1997 and most of the time it remains out of order because, according to technical experts, the machine’s life is almost near its end and it needs to be replaced with a new machine.

The administration of the hospital has signed a contract with a private company for annual maintenance of the machine at a cost of Rs1 million a year.

Assistant Prof Dr Ishaque Channar, in-charge of the radiology ward, told this correspondent on Sunday that the multi-format camera of the scanner had developed faults and the company responsible for the maintenance had informed that it was irreparable.

He said that the camera would be replaced with a dry laser printer as the films of multi-format camera were also no more available in the market. Quotations had been invited for the purchase of the printer, which would cost approximately Rs1 million, he said.

He said that the machine would take at least 2-4 weeks to become fully functional.

The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Naseer Ahmed Shaikh, said that the scanner would be made functional within shortest possible time to benefit patients.

The Sindh Health Department was supposed to install new CT scanners as well as MRI (multi-resonance imaging) machines in the PMCH, CMC Larkana, Civil Hospital Karachi and Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad. The Rs564 million project had been approved in 2006 but it was put on the backburner after massive fluctuation in the exchange rate of dollar, rupee in international market.