Karnal Civil Hospital radiologist on Amarnath Yatra duty, patients in the lurch

Parveen Arora

Karnal, July 12

Patients visiting the Radiology Department of the District Civil Hospital have been left in the lurch as the lone radiologist has been assigned a duty at Amarnath Yatra’s base camp.

The absence of the radiologist has brought CT scan services to a standstill, forcing patients to seek costly alternatives outside.

We are Making arrangements

We have only one radiologist who has been assigned the duty for Amarnath Yatra. We are making arrangements with help from the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College. — Dr Krishan Kumar, Civil Surgeon

As per the hospital authorities, no CT scan has been conducted here since June 26 and the situation is likely to continue throughout the month.

Currently, the department is being managed by a single sonologist who, as per officials, is ‘overburdened’ with the task of performing ultrasounds.

The lone radiologist is currently serving in a hospital at Baltal base camp for the Amarnath Yatra cave, resulting in a backlog at the Civil Hospital. Not only the CT scan facility, but other works related to report of critical cases, board cases, age verification test have also been affected.

“Earlier, the department used to conduct seven to eight CT scans and nearly 50 ultrasounds daily on an average. Now, no CT scans are being done and the sonologist is conducting about 30 ultrasounds a day,” said a hospital staff member.

Urging the government to make an alternative arrangement, patients want more radiologists in the department as no appointment had been made for the past several years.

“I had gone to the hospital to get my mother’s CT scan done. I had to get it done from outside as the service was not available in the Civil Hospital as the radiologist is not there,” said Munish Kumar, a local resident.

Rajnish, another resident, said, “I have two options – either to get my diagnostic procedure done from outside or wait for the radiologist to return,” he added.

Another patient said he had brought his wife for an ultrasound, but had to wait for hours. “The government should focus on the Radiology Department as needy people come here for their diagnostic procedure. Going to other hospitals for a CT scan or ultrasound is not only inconvenient, but also expensive,” he added.

The hospital administration is aware about the problems being faced by the patients and claimed that they have been making efforts to streamline the situation.

“We have only one radiologist who has been assigned the duty for Amarnath Yatra. We are making arrangements with help from the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College,” said Dr Krishan Kumar, Civil Surgeon.