CUTTACK: The SCB Medical College and Hospital will soon be transformed into an AIIMS Plus institute but the hospital is struggling to provide basic diagnostic services to patients in its neurology department. As the wait for an electroencephalogram (EEG) test at the hospital extends to several months, patients are forced to get the test done at private facilities.
Take the case of four-and-a-half-year old Prasad Nayak, who was referred to the hospital from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (SVPPGIP), also known as Sishu Bhawan. As Sishu Bhawan does not have an EEG machine, Prasad’s father Pabitra brought him to SCB on February 20. But till date, Prasad has not undergone the test.
Similarly, Nabaghan Biswal of Jajpur is waiting for EEG since the second week of February. The neurology department of the hospital told him Biswal he would have to wait till April for the test.
As per reports, the hospital has a single EEG machine in the neurology department. Apart from various departments of SCB, patients referred from Sishu Bhawan, Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer(AHPGIC) and district headquarters hospital (DHH) rely on the sole machine for getting tested.
Sources said while 50 to 60 patients visit the department for EEG test. However, owing to the constraint only 10 to 12 tests are conducted daily. The EEG machine is not operated on government holidays.
Head of department Prof Ashok Kumar Mallik attributed the issue to rise in number of patients being advised EEG test. “Efforts are on to procure more EEG machines and technicians as part of the hospital’s expansion plan,”he said.