Rayagada: There is an ultrasound machine at the Rayagada District Headquarters Hospital (RDHH) here. Nothing unusual about it, but what is shocking is that the machine has been used only 27 times in the last five years.
This fact amply demonstrates how bad the medical facilities in this district are. The machine was set up at a cost of Rs 18.18 lakh, but mostly lies idle because of the lack of people who can operate the machine.
Surgeon Dr Utkal Rath had conducted ultrasound on 25 patients prior to his transfer to Khurda in November, 2017. Padmapur medical officer Dr Jay Babu used the machine twice before his transfer to Jeypore. Most of the time the ultrasound facility in RDHH remains under lock and key forcing patients to seek recourse elsewhere.
There are hundreds of patients who flock the RDHH every day. Most of them are not very rich. Hence it is they who suffer the most. They then have to visit private clinics paying more out of their pockets. One of the clinics which the patients usually go to, charges Rs 800 per person. “We have to borrow money from friends and relatives to get the ultrasound done at the private clinic,” a patient lamented.
Pregnant women are the more hard-pressed as they have to do more than one ultrasound. “Doctor had advised us to do an ultrasound at the six-month stage of pregnancy. We came to the RDHH hearing the facility is available. However, when we reached the hospital, we found that the ultrasound room is closed,” said Reeba Meneka, a resident of Forest Colony. “My husband is a daily wager. So how can we afford such huge charges,” asked Reeba. “I had to go back without getting the ultrasound done.”
When contacted, the chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Artabandhu Nayak said he had just joined RDHH. He said it would take some time to get things working. He assured that the problem related to the ultrasound facility will be solved soon.
PNN