NEW DELHI: Faced with lack of radiologists, the government-run Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital is on the lookout for more diagnostic centres near it to provide cashless services to pregnant women under the Janani Sishu Suraksha Karyakram, a healthcare scheme.
“There’s an acute shortage of radiologists at government-run hospitals in the city. Even here, we have to source radiologists from elsewhere. They come twice a week from NC Joshi hospital. This is why we are forced to refer patients to nearby diagnostic centres,” said an official.
The medical superintendent of the hospital in Moti Nagar wrote to the Director-General Health Services (DGHS), detailing the tests for which patients have to be referred to other diagnostic centres. These include radiology (USG, CT Scan, MRI etc), haematology, biochemistry, histopathology and other relevant diagnostic procedures.
“Requests are made to our higher authorities. But they are simply too tied up. We’re battling a manpower crunch when it comes to providing diagnostic services. The number of such referrals is around 40 per day,” the official said.
“It has been envisaged that the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram scheme to provide free diagnostic facilities are not available in (the) government institution at a given time, and accordingly, these services have been planned to be outsourced from any of the accredited private laboratories from hospital’s neighbourhood,” a notice at the hospital said.
“Currently, there are 3-4 diagnostic facilities and the remaining tests are done on an empanelled basis at nearby centres. However, the tests are done free of cost. Tenders have been invited from diagnostic centres that are willing to offer their facilities to us,” a hospital official said.
“The authority to empanel diagnostic centres is vested in the medical superintendent or director. Some have already been empanelled and we are looking to rope in more,” he said.
LETTER TO DGHS DID NOT HELP
The hospital’s medical superintendent had written to Director General Health Services, detailing the tests for which patients are referred to diagnostic centres. But it did little