Hard to find X-ray machine in Safdarjung Hospital after 4 pm
The hospital authority has recently issued an order which says the C-arm machine, a medical imaging device that is based on the X-ray technology, will only be available for the patients before 4 pm.
Come after 4pm with a fractured bone to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital and in all probability, you will be referred to private hospitals or nearby clinics to get the high-resolution X-ray imaging of your bone done. It may sound bizarre, but it's true. The hospital authority has recently issued an order which says the C-arm machine will only be available for the patients before 4 pm.
A mobile C-arm is a medical imaging device that is based on the X-ray technology. The name is derived from the C-shaped arm used to connect the X-ray source and X-ray detector to one another. The machine provides high-resolution X-Ray images.
Sources in the hospital told Mail Today that there has been a shortage of these machines in the hospital for quite long. Patients were either referred or treated with some other technology. "Almost 70-80 per cent of the cases were referred due to shortage of machines. But now, the new orders are shocking. What we will do if we receive any patient after 4pm? Should we again refer them to other hospital?," a doctor told Mail Today.
The machine also allows the physician to monitor progress at any point during the operation and immediately make any corrections that may be required.
The hospital is one of the biggest hospitals in Asia with a daily footfall of nearly 8,000 patients. There are two C-arm machines in the department as of now, out of which only one is functional. According to the sources, the other machine will soon get repaired and will be made available to the patients.
Senior doctors are blaming the junior doctors for the miscommunication. "Most of the doctors on duty are keeping the surgeries during the evening. All important surgeries should be done in the morning. This way, they will be able to conduct the surgeries in the morning or afternoon," a senior doctor from the hospital told Mail Today.
"I had discussed the matter with the head of the department. This C-arm machine is not required for every patient. But, in next 15 days, the other machine will be in the functional state," Dr AK Rai, medical superintendent, Safdarjung hospital, told Mail Today.
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