PIC fails to set angiography machine right in 4 months

Posted on 8 months ago

Sardar Irshad

LAHORE: The administration of Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) has failed to make angiography machine functional even after the elapse of more than four months, The Frontier Post has learned.

PIC has five angiography machines out of them one is dysfunctional since April this year. The hospital administration had claimed in April to get it fixed within a couple of days but could not honour its commitment even after a long period of four months. The more disappointing matter is that still there are no signs of the said machine to be in functional position in near future as the hospital administration makes the same claim that was made by it almost four months ago. Perhaps the administration has forgotten absolutely what it had claimed earlier.

The inordinate delay in fixing of the most vital machine for the heart patients has spread a wave of concern among the masses. It may be mentioned here that PIC is the only health facility in the provincial metropolis for heart patients belonging to poor, lower middle and middle class people as they cannot afford the exorbitant fee charged by the private hospitals. The tales of heat patients having problems in getting angiography tests in PIC are endless. "I have been waiting here for five hours to get the angiography of my mother and still don't know when my turn comes", said one Qasim Mehmood, an aggrieved person who came to PIC for the treatment of his mother. He said that angiography test in PIC consumed a lot of time because hospital had few machines whereas the number of patients was in hundreds.

Another person named Muhammad Rizwan, a factory worker by profession, told that he came to the hospital to get his elder brother examined and was waiting for three hours with no knowledge when he got his turn. "The condition of my brother is very critical and I want to get the operation date as early as possible but it is not possible without the test of angiography" he said and added that he had been given the token number 65 and still the patient having token 23 had entered the room for his test. One Maraad Ali in her 60s said that he had come to the hospital with sever heart problem and was waiting for his turn for three hours. "The senior doctors are indifferent of our miserable plight", a visibly dejected Muraad said.

Scores of heart patients visit PIC everyday. According to sources at PIC, the number of patients requiring angiography tests is seventy to eighty daily. One of the technicians working with angiography department of the hospital seeking anonymity told that "the hospital needs more than five angiography machines to entertain the large number of patients who daily come here but we even have not the five machines in functional position". Hospital administration did not worry about this situation as it did not face the patients, he added.

When contacted, Medical Superintendent of PIC, Dr Muhammad Javed said only one angiography machine is out of order whereas four machines are working satisfactorily. "We have imported machines and in case of any problem in a machine, we need imported spare parts", he said on a query about a prolonged delay in fixing of the said machine.

In off the record conversation with this correspondent, a senior doctor of the hospital explained the cumbersome process of fixing of any out of order machine. The informal chat revealed that the process was victim of routine red tapism besides the lack of interest on part of seniors also matters. Further, the clinical responsibilities and the administration responsibilities in one hand create such problems. The matters of administration are entirely a separate job and must be handled by a person having the expertise of managerial job. When responsibilities are mixed with one another, such outcome is quite natural.

Given the great inconvenience faced by the heart patients, the government must give attention to this problem and fix the said angiography machine promptly. Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, being the head of health ministry, must realize his responsibility and save hundreds of patients facing the problem.
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